I don't have much interest in Library books for e-readers. But I know it's a big feature for some. It is cool how you can make notes and highlights and they will save, even transferring them should you purchase the book later.

Now if the book lending feature can be improved and become the standard, not just an option.

It's now almost May. I am interested in the Kindle, but i wonder if it would be better off to wait 4 months, which most likely a new version will appear in August or September?

You could wait for a new version in August. But then, you might as well wait until Black Friday in November. At which point you might as well wait for a new version in March. At which point ...

touche'

So does that mean the Ammie reader will also get EPUB support now, or will the ADE transfers be limited to PDF only? Either way, if libraries don't start negotiating for more copies of all their digital titles, the already irksome waiting times will become unbearable, considering Ammie readers dominate the market and will flood the library system.

Overdrive will be adding the mobi format for Kindle. Libraries will not have to buy new copies, the end user just specifies which version they want. So, person #1 might borrow the ebook in mobi format, person #2 the same "copy" of that same ebook in epub format, and so on.

I've never heard the term "Ammie" before. From the context I'm guessing it refers to Amazon?

I've never heard that term either. I googled "Ammie Reader" and this thread was on the first page.

Ah, I see. Thanks for that.

Heads up for people with an ad-supported Kindle, you're being given the opportunity to buy a $20 Amazon gift card for $10. Bought a more expensive version of the Kindle? You get jack.

Makes no sense to me.

Amazon's been doing the $20 for $10 thing a lot recently. There was a Groupon where they did that recently, and I think another promotion prior to that.

And it makes total sense to me. It promotes the ad supported Kindle to people who were on the fence. "What, I can get the Kindle cheaper and get deals on gift certificates? I'll buy two!" People who previously bought Kindles have already formed their opinions about it.

I found a "cozy" murder mystery on Amazon, "Dead to Writes". The reader reviews were enthusiastic. I noticed they wanted $9.xx for the PB, and only $.99 for the ebook. That's the kind of pricing I'd like to see more often on ebooks. I bought it.

Of course, the reason it was so well priced is the author isn't well known. Might even be a first novel.

Lots of $.99 books available ....

http://www.amazon.com/tag/99%20cents/products/ref=tag

Generally the 99 cent ebooks are self-published.

Crap. I forgot to look for this last night. In general I really like cozy mysteries. For a buck it seems like an obvious purchase.

The whole e-book revolution does make a guy look a little more carefully before buying. Now any no-talent hack with a computer can "publish" a book and sell it on Amazon. And then they post 20 glowing 5-star reviews for it so you can't even go by that. You've really got to look at the publisher to know whether it's legit.

The name of the publisher doesn't tell you anything. Anyone publishing on Amazon can make up their own publishing house, so unless you've memorized the names of every "legit" imprint, you have no idea if it's just some guy in his apartment. And even if the author uses his own name as the publisher or leaves the space blank, what does that prove? I know a number of established authors who are taking their old, out-of-print books and putting them on Amazon. Would you not buy The Iron Dream, an award winning sci-fi classic, simply because Norman Spinrad lists himself as the publisher?

As to legitimacy, there are several midlist authors who've switched to self-publishing and are advising new writers to go in that direction as well. Is Kristine Kathryn Rusch less legit when she publishes herself instead of through Pyr? And what of the self-publishing authors who earn enough to quit their day jobs -- seems odd to describe a professional writer as not legit.

There's a lot of crap being self-published, but self-publishing does not make something crap. We need a way to identify the good stuff, but we can't assume that anything self-published is trash. Right Funkdaddy J?

Maybe not 100%, but it's a damn good indicator. I'd venture to say that 99% (probably more) of self-published stuff is crap. If it's an established author publishing his backlist, then we probably already know that author and the point is moot.

I chuckle every time I hear an author refer to his or her stuff as "indie." No, it's not "indie," it's just not good enough for someone to pay you for it.

Absolutely. Several of the best novels I have read on the Kindle recently have been self-published and I bought them for 1$-3$. Having a publisher absolutely does not mean it is any better. Most often it simply means it is more expensive so a middle man can get a cut.

As I said above, I disagree entirely. I'm extremely excited about what I see is a revolution in publishing. The indie author is able to compete with and potentially outsell mid-list published authors. It is fantastic! It also means the readers themselves get to decide who is a hit and successful versus some "professional" gatekeeper of a publisher.

Though there is thing I do like about publishers. Ostensibly they will have the cash for some good editing of the books. Unfortunately though, I have bought a few poorly edited ebooks from the big publishers.

Really? Then I suppose I should return the money Amazon deposited in my bank account last weekend.

Ahh, and now your boisterous defense of self publishing makes sense.

Pointing out the logical holes in your sweeping claims counts as a boisterous defense?

(Ad hominem circumstantial, BTW)

Sorry man, didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I didn't know you self published.

Regardless, my assessment of self publishing stands. With the rarest of rare exceptions, self-publishing is for writers who aren't good enough to be legitimately published. Nothing personal. I'm sure you're very passionate about what you self publish.

I disagree. Since I can read a sample I can judge for myself, and while a lot of self-published stuff isn't that great, I've read some things I've really enjoyed that were self-published. I think that's one of the best things about having an e-reader, reading stuff that I never would have gotten to read otherwise because publishers aren't sure how to sell it. And since it's cheap and I can read the first couple of chapters before I decide to buy, it's pretty much risk-free.