Sunday, November 21, 2010

Amazon finally does Kindle-book gifting - UPDATE

AMAZON FINALLY DOES GIFTING OF KINDLE BOOKS



I'll just quote the press release while providing my earlier version of of the portion in this press-release that highlights again the Editors' choices for the best Kindle books of 2010. Amazon starts it off with this:



'For the First Time, Give the Gift of Kindle Books (No Kindle Required)

Kindle Store the first major bookstore to offer eBook gifting'



Well, in fact, Kobo offered eBook gifting a day earlier (Thursday), and since the Kobo is sold at Borders and other stores, I think that qualifies -- Amazon nodded off at the wheel there but they're awake now and ready :-)



Here's the press release with my modifications that include links to the books they have recommended for 2010.
' SEATTLE, Nov 19, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --



(NASDAQ: AMZN) - Kindle is the most gifted item in the history of Amazon.com and millions of people around the world are reading Kindle Books on Kindle devices and free Kindle apps. Beginning today, just in time for the holiday season, customers can give Kindle Books as gifts to anyone with an e-mail address -- no Kindle required. Kindle Books can be read on Kindle devices and free Kindle reading apps for iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, BlackBerry and Android-based devices.

For more information or to give a Kindle Book as a gift, go to amzn.to/givekindlebooks.



"We are thrilled to make it easier than ever for our customers to give their favorite Kindle book to a friend or family member as a gift," said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President, Amazon Kindle. "We're making this functionality available in time for the holidays to offer an easy, stress free holiday shopping option for anyone - not just Kindle owners."



To give a Kindle Book as a gift, customers simply choose a book in the Kindle Store, select "Give as a Gift" and send their gift to anyone with an email address. Notifications of Kindle Books gifts are delivered instantly via e-mail and the recipient redeems the gift in the Kindle Store to read on any Kindle or free Kindle app.



Just in time for holiday gift-giving, Amazon editors' picks for the best books of the year are:



[ CAUTION: A small change for this list only:

These won't open a new window, so don't close the book-browsing window

but instead use the Back button to get back to this page --

otherwise, it would be hard to get back here. ]



1. 'The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks' by Rebecca Skloot

2. 'Faithful Place: A Novel' by Tana French

3. 'Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War' by Karl Marlantes

4. 'Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption' by Laura Hillenbrand

5. 'The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration' by Isabel Wilkerson

6. 'Freedom: A Novel' by Jonathan Franzen

7. 'The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest' by Stieg Larsson

8. 'To the End of the Land' by David Grossman

9. 'Just Kids' by Patti Smith

10. 'The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine' by Michael Lewis





[And here's the usual press-release paragraph that I `normally omit, but some new to the Kindle may be interested.]



With over 725,000 books, the U.S. Kindle Store (www.amazon.com/kindlestore) has the largest selection of the most popular books that people want to read - including New York Times Bestsellers and New Releases from $9.99. Kindle lets you Buy Once, Read Everywhere - on Kindle, Kindle 3G, Kindle DX, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, BlackBerry and Android-based devices. Amazon's Whispersync technology syncs your place across devices, so you can pick up where you left off. With Kindle Worry-Free Archive, books you purchase from the Kindle Store are automatically backed up online in your Kindle library on Amazon where they can be re-downloaded wirelessly for free, anytime. '


As I said, finally !



UPDATE - For convenience, here's the tiny FAQ at the givekindlebooks page linked earlier above:
'

Frequently Asked Questions about Giving Kindle eBooks

Do I have to own a Kindle to give or receive a Kindle ebook as a gift?

No. Kindle ebooks can be given and received by anyone with an e-mail address. Kindle ebooks can be read either on Kindle or on your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, or Android Phone using one of our free reading apps.

What if the recipient doesn't like or want their gift?

Kindle ebooks received as gifts can be exchanged for Amazon.com gift cards.

Are all Kindle ebooks eligible to be given as gifts? All ebooks available for purchase in the Amazon.com Kindle Store can be given as gifts. '



Also, here is the November 5 blog article on other Amazon best-book links for 2010 so far.





Kindle 3's (UK: Kindle 3's), DX Graphite