I came across an interesting help page at Amazon the other day that describes a product that I never heard of before: Kindle Cards. Apparently Kindle Cards are as rare as unicorns because I can’t find a shred of information about them anywhere outside of the help article. Using Google search pulls up one single […]
eBooks
Amazon Closing Shelfari, Merging it with Goodreads
Last week Amazon revealed plans to close Shelfari, a social network for book lovers with various recommendation and sharing features. Ever since Amazon purchased Goodreads back in 2013, a similar but more popular service, the writing was on the wall (pardon the pun). Amazon has been neglecting Shelfari for years, and now it’s officially getting […]
Kobo Offers Price Match Guarantee for eBooks, Plus an Extra 10% Credit
Kobo recently introduced a price-matching program for ebook purchases that includes a 10% bonus credit. It works a bit differently than Amazon’s price-matching system where ebook prices get discounted directly to reflect prices and sales by other merchants. The way it works with Kobo is you have to buy the ebook then submit a request […]
Public Library eBooks and Audiobooks More Popular Than Ever
One great thing about ebooks is that fact that many public libraries around the world support ebook lending for free. All you need is an internet connection, a library card, a device to read on, and some time to read. Downloads through OverDrive’s library lending service increased by 24% in 2015. They set a new […]
Amazon Echo Can Now Read Kindle eBooks Using Text to Speech
Amazon recently added some new reader-friendly features to their Amazon Echo device. You can now have Alexa read aloud Kindle ebooks using text-to-speech. They also improved Audible audiobook playback control by adding voice commands for skipping chapters. The new text-to-speech feature works with your purchased Kindle ebooks and ebooks borrowed from the Kindle Owners’ Lending […]
Amazon Now Offers Option to Embed Book Previews on Sites and Apps
Amazon has started rolling out a new feature this week called Kindle instant previews that lets anyone embed full samples of books directly on third-party websites and apps. Kindle instant previews are similar to the “Look Inside” feature that Amazon offers on their website that lets customers preview samples of most books using a web […]
What Do You Do With Your eBooks After Reading Them?
Yesterday I came across a post at MobileRead asking what do you do with an ebook after you’re finished reading it. That’s an interesting question that I haven’t thought of before. For me, I do nothing. I just let the finished books be wherever it is. I don’t make backups. I don’t mark them as […]
List of Amazon’s Best Selling Books of 2015
Amazon issued a press release a couple of days ago announcing the best-selling books of 2015, complete with a list of the top 20 titles for a few different categories. According to the fine print, the best-seller lists take into account first editions published in 2015 and reflect paid print and Kindle editions. Last month […]