What have you found for an aftermarket case for the Kindle. Nada. Bupkis. Amazon really pulled an apple apparently and didn't let anyone really know when it was coming out, nor that they might like an aftermarket to exist for it. I have a lot of ideas on how a case could be made for the unit and just wonder if anyone else out there is thinking first to market might be nice...

So if you know of a case maker give them a nudge or if you are aware of a case that is out there respond here and in the discussion pages. I bet they could sell at least 3/4 of us on an alternative tot he default case, which by the way is now out of stock as well.

Tags: Kindle, case, review

One of the reasons I bought a Kindle was to allow me to carry my Bible with me and read it anywhere. So far it has been a blessing in this regard. Without needing to grab a specific version or carry additional books when I want to read something else the Kindle allows me to have my Bible with me at all times. I have a Great pitt-minion Cambridge bible that I had been carrying for quite some time that has served me well, but the kindle is an adequate substitute.

Why only adequate? Mainly because so far none of the publishers have had time to release a version that makes use of the Kindle's ability to hyperlink anything and create a wonderful wiki-like experience. So what is it like right now? If you want to read it is wonderful, I love the single column and the ability to adjust the font is a great feature that has allowed me to rest my eyes from the strain I used to have with my little Cambridge Pitt-minion (The name is from the smaller 9 pt font face and location it originated) NASB I carried before. The shortcoming is if you want to hop over to a parallel passage or even know exactly where you currently are in the text. The NET version is superior to either NIV in it's embedding of the existing chapter and verse throughout, but it lacks the links to actually get to the chapter from the book opening page, so if you want to get to chapter 10 of 1st corinthians your paging quite a while to eventually get there. In either of the NIV versions the chapters are located under the book name and then at each chapter.

So between the NIV and the Today's NIV the later has better typesetting currently, in the standard NIV the chapter numbers are the same font and size as the regular text and that makes it difficult to pick out where the chapters begin. Additionally in the TNIV the book headings and chapter hints are set off in a different font and I think it looks a little better. I have high hopes that when the publishers do an update that we will be able to benefit from the ability to re-download the versions to our kindles and have a change made by the publishers reflected. This is contrary to how real books work, you buy a book with a typo and it's there forever. We'll just have to wait and see.

I am currently working with two very special fellows over at Bible.org to produce an improved readers edition, the current one is only .99 at amazon and does not have the chapter links yet but at least is available. I have some ideas on how to make the experience better that I hope to test this week and then describe to Todd and Dave. If you have not tried the NET translation I would recommend buying it at the current .99 cent price and using it to simply read the bible as I am currently. The folks over at Bible.org are not trying to profit from the sale of this quality translation and even if the ability to release updates is not available I plan to purchase multiple copies to support their efforts in the ministry of spreading a translation that is available for free for teaching and instruction. If you want to see a number of pictures of the three versions I have tried with comments click on this link to see my photo page of Kindle Bibles.

Check in with your experiences at the discussion pages or here in the comments.

Tags: Kindle, books, bible, review

Just discovered that manybooks.net now has kindle formated books available. If you have wondered what can I get to try my kindle out with that won't cost me anything, search no longer. Many (Ha, that's part of their name) of the books I read when I was younger and would consider great books for your own library are available at the site. I downloaded Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe and although it has about 7 pages of pretext explaining that the text came from the Gutenbug project and how you can contribute if you want to there is a coverpage picture and the text is all there. So in my mind score one for FREE.

There is a large number of books at manybooks.net that I wouldn't bother with but I plan on grabbing many of the classics that I haven't read or haven't read since I was much younger. "Frankenstien" by Mary Shelly or Bram Stokers "Dracula" were a few that I have never read the book but have obviously seen ton of retread movies related to them. One I do want to get is Treasure Island and Gulliver's Travels that I haven't read since I was 10, but there are really too many to list here. A large number of Shakespere's works, Poe, well far more than I had expected. So Kudos to ManyBooks.net for hopping on the bandwagon early and getting their collection converted so quickly, go check it out, I can't image you won't find at least one book you'll download.

Tags: Kindle, books, review