May Roundup

Here’s a roundup of all the books and such discussed last month that are available for your Kindle. (Mostly)

The Magic Catalog
The Magic Catalog - Great for downloading things into your kindle.
Project Gutenberg - The site that all the public domain books are originally from. They have many more that are not available in the Kindle store

Myth and Epic
The Odyssey - Many translations of a great Epic
The Iliad - The prequel to the Odyssey. The one that started it all.
Ovid - The Metamorphoses tales.
Tales from Ovid - The Ted Hughes translations are great but not available on Kindle!
Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold by C.S. Lewis.
The Aeneid by Virgil

Literature Challenge
The Man Who was Thursday, A Nightmare

Of Human Bondage
Of Human Bondage - W. Somerset Maugham. My favorite.
The Talisman - Peter Straub and Stephen King. The first.

The Harvard Classics 
Download these to a computer and Unzip.
The Harvard Classics 1-19
The Harvard Classics 20-29
The Harvard Classics 30-51

Other sources mentioned
The Kindle Chronicles - Kindle Podcast
Calibre - eBook management software

New kindle
A guide for what to put on a new kindle


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Happy Reading.

New Kindle

So, my old Kindle screen started to have some issues. This is the first time I have had any issues with a Kindle Screen. This is my fifth kindle and I have owned every version. I use it heavily and I carry it everywhere in its nice case. I called Amazon and I am out of warranty. Amazon doing what they do best, customer service, sent me a new one in exchange! Before I send my old one back I need to put some things on the new one.

1. Install The Magic Catalog
2. Install The Harvard Classics
3. Download your samples
4. Download what you're currently reading
5. Start Reading

Each time I have upgraded I did pretty much this same procedure. The Magic Catalog is essential because many many books out of public domain are still not available in the Kindle Store. I always check the Kindle Store for a book but since I research a lot there are still many titles that I do not find on there. Calibre is also great for finding books. I have a previous post about the Harvard Classics and how to install them.

I have a collection titled “Samples”, that I keep the samples I download for later reading. This is a good way to remember a book you heard about and don't want to forget. The samples are free and if you like the book you can always buy it. I encourage everyone to download samples regularly. This is a great way to always have something to read and to find new material without having to buy anything. I send myself all the samples I have for later reading to the new kindle. This is the reason I haven't sent my old kindle back yet.

Since I do maintain a library of books outside of the Kindle Store, it is easy for me to transfer them to a new Kindle. I have done this several times. All my previous Kindles have gone to good homes.

Many of these tips I heard from the Kindle Chronicles podcast. Have you subscribed to the podcast yet? You should!

These are just some tips I have picked up along the way. Please share your tips and suggestions in the comments below.

This blog is now available in the kindle store, so please subscribe there or by RSS so you don’t miss any post! Happy Reading.

The Harvard Classics

The Harvard Classics have been around for over 100 years. The Harvard Classics is a 50 volume library of world literature compiled by the president of Harvard University, Dr. Charles William Eliot, in 1909. He would give speeches saying “that the elements of a liberal education could be obtained by spending 15 minutes a day reading from a collection of books that could fit on a five-foot shelf.” (Wikipedia) Now they can fit in your hand!

15 minutes a day reading great literature sounds like a great challenge to me! Dr. Eliot was challenged by those who heard his speech and he produced the 50 volume library.

Before the Kindle Store made all the classics available for free on their site, I used to have to search around the internet for literature eBooks. I found this collection a few years ago and have put it on every Kindle I own.

The best and easiest way to do this is with an eBook library manager like Calibre. I first heard of Calibre from Len Edgerly who runs a great podcast and blog at The Kindle Chronicles. He has an interview with the creator of Calibre, Kovid Goyal.

All the links on this post are meant for a computer and not your Kindle. The software and downloads need to be installed and unzipped on a computer. Then transferred to your Kindle using the USB cable provided with your kindle. The great thing about Calibre is that it is eReader agnostic. You can use the software to add eBooks to your Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Sony or any other eReader device out there.

The files are zipped and split into 3 files.

Harvard Classics 1-19

Harvard Classics 20-29

Harvard Classics 30-51 (There is no 50)

1.  Download all three files.
2. Unzip the files.
3. Add to your Calibre library.
4.  Connect your Kindle (or eReader).
5. Transfer to Kindle in appropriate format.Wait for it to finish.
6. Voila!

Here is a great how-to article on using Calibre. Also, there are many how-to videos for Calibre on YouTube.

I made a collection containing the files on my Kindle. This puts all 50 volumes in one place.

Happy Reading. Leave questions and comments below. 


Are you going to try the 15 minute challenge?