BS: advice about kindles

Subject: RE: BS: advice about kindles
From: Thompson
Date: 07 May 15 - 10:21 AM

I often have a read on the iPad before sleep, and it doesn't bother me; your mileage (of course kilometres if you're coming to Europe) may vary.
For jet lag, try getting as much daylight into your eyes as possible when you arrive, to reset some gland or other; in some parts of Ireland you can buy Lullaby Milk, produced by Ardrahan Dairy in Cork (Supervalu usually has it), which is especially high in melatonin because they milk their cows at midnight for this purpose. Counsel of perfection is to fast the day before you travel and not eat on the plane; I've never managed that.
When you're looking for Kindle books, don't take Amazon's advice, just ask friends what's good and see is it available as a Kindle book and it usually is. Your kindly friends can also buy you presents, and it doesn't matter which Amazon jurisdiction you're in; I recently bought a friend Bel Canto and another Haunts of the Black Masseur, and they transferred happily from amazon.com into their amazon.co.uk and amazon.fr accounts.

Subject: RE: BS: advice about kindles
From: GUEST,Dave the Gnome
Date: 07 May 15 - 10:06 AM

Always plenty of paperbacks in charity shops, leeneia. Don't bring any - pay 50p or less for some and then give them away before you go back.

Subject: RE: BS: advice about kindles
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 07 May 15 - 09:51 AM

Thanks, everyone for the information.

Unfortunately, Mr. Red's warning sounds all too correct for me. The device is going to wake me up more than ever, and that's the last thing I need. I have noticed that using my computer before bedtime wakes me up, and I fear a Kindle will do the same, even though the page looks like a nice, soft gray.

I get serious jet lag. Ah, the flight across the Atlantic with not a wink of sleep! Ah, waking up in a silent hotel at 2 am with nothing to do! I think I better stick with the paperbacks. Maybe seven will be enough....

But of course I can use all your suggestions for when I'm not travelling abroad, so thanks.

Subject: RE: BS: advice about kindles
From: Thompson
Date: 07 May 15 - 06:46 AM

There are zillions of cheap books for Kindle.

You don't have to have a Kindle; the app is available for iPhones and iPads and Macs and PCs, and I assume for non-i smartphones. Most smartphones now are big enough that you can read comfortably on them.

If you set up a Kindle account with Amazon, you can email yourself ebooks, for instance those you download from archive.org, which has many wonderful out-of-copyright books from the 18th and 19th and early 20th centuries. (You get a special Kindle email to do this; the book then appears automatically on your device through Whispernet.) If you do this, the books will be listed in the Kindle library on your device under 'Docs'. They'll also turn up on a search of its library.

Some of the books I love and would buy on the Kindle, for instance Florence King's Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady, bafflingly are listed (though sometimes hidden) on Amazon's Kindle store, but not available for purchase.

Subject: RE: BS: advice about kindles
From: Joe Offer
Date: 07 May 15 - 04:08 AM

leeneia, your local library may have books you can read on Kindle or other reading devices. Check your library's Website. I travel with my Kindle Fire all the time, and really like it. I download a lot of documents, magazines, and whatnot in PDF format, and they work well on my Kindle. Can't say I've bought many books in Kindle format because so much is available for free.
I did get a nice desert wildflower guide, though.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: advice about kindles
From: Mr Red
Date: 07 May 15 - 03:52 AM

beware reading from any led-lit device too near sleep.
Flourescent, energy saving or LED lighting contains more blue light than tungsten.
Blue light is more prevalent at mid-day. You can't buck evolution. We are not nocturnal mammals. Jet-lag can be eased by getting a dose of mid-day sun.
If you have trouble sleeping correlate it to times reading from your Kindle (eg). PC's are no different in this respect.
Some devices have soft light settings. For good reason. But it is only a partial solution.

Subject: RE: BS: advice about kindles
From: peregrina
Date: 07 May 15 - 03:19 AM

book suggestion:

The Shepherd's Life by James Rebanks (herdyshepherd1)
about sheepherding in the Lake District, Herdwicks and Swaledales

just out last month, available for kindle on amazon.co.uk but not yet amazon.com

Subject: RE: BS: advice about kindles
From: JennieG
Date: 07 May 15 - 02:08 AM

Leeneia, I download free mystery books from Omnimystery News who send out a daily newsletter with the day's freebies and bargains.....and yes, some of them have been similar to the books you describe!

Omnimystery News

On the right hand side of the page is "Subscribe to Omnimystery News", just follow the links. You can unsubscribe whenever you wish, too.

Subject: RE: BS: advice about kindles
From: GUEST,#
Date: 06 May 15 - 08:16 PM

Thanks, S. Here's the link.

https://librivox.org/

Subject: RE: BS: advice about kindles
From: wysiwyg
Date: 06 May 15 - 07:17 PM

.org, sorry!

Subject: RE: BS: advice about kindles
From: GUEST,#
Date: 06 May 15 - 07:01 PM

Susan, librivox.com has gone t/u I think. Seems the site's for sale, or domain--whatever it's called.

Subject: RE: BS: advice about kindles
From: wysiwyg
Date: 06 May 15 - 06:42 PM

Yup!

Visit librivox.com and browse genres and authors, then look for the titles in the Kindle store. They will usually be free, since they originated at Gutenberg. All Public Domain.

~S~

Subject: BS: advice about Kindles
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 06 May 15 - 05:59 PM

I have a trip across the pond coming, and I will need a number of books to read at night and in the middle of the night. My usual method is to go to the paperback mysteries in the public library and look for silly books. You know, the kind where the cover is hot pink, bright yellow or turquoise and the detective owns a Chihuahua.

The deal is, I don't find these books by author or title. I scan the shelves looking for the bright covers.

Such books are diverting without being upsetting. This will be a two-week trip, so I figure I need ten books.

My sister-in-law has shown me her Kindle, and it seemed comfortable to use and would weigh less than the ten books. But when I tried to find mysteries to download, all I could find was grim bestsellers that cost $8.99 each.

Does anybody know how I can use a Kindle to read the kind of books I want?