Sunday, July 05, 2009

The Kindle, its iPhone App, and a Free Francis Schaeffer Book

It's probably not news to anyone carrying an iPhone that there is a free app available that will turn the device into a Kindle. (And it will do it for the iTouch too.) I have had the Kindle 2.0 for several months now, and I have enjoyed it. I am still not sure that it is worth the initial cost, however. And certain kinds books I still prefer to read in hard copy, for one or more reasons.

For example, if it's a book I think Carol would like, then I would prefer to have the hard copy so I can give it to her. The same goes for books that I think other people among the kith and kin might like too.

On the other hand, certain reading seems very good to have available "inside" the Kindle: I really enjoy the WSJ showing up every day on it, and I like it for certain kinds of reference books, although there is still a limited supply of those kinds of books available in eBook form.

But if one already has an iPhone (or an iTouch), one bypasses the entry cost imposed by the Kindle device. So why not use the iPhone for those kinds of books that you are ready not to have on your bookshelf for Dad to borrow when he's in town?

Francis Schaeffer is a beloved writer with some of the kin and maybe some of the kith too. Amazon is offering without charge in eBook form Schaeffer's No Little People. (Obviously a title selected before the Hobbit craze, and a little unfortunate, don't you think?) The book is a series of his sermons.

There are a number of free eBooks out there, and I have downloaded several. One source of information about eBooks that will let you know about the latest free eBook offer is Books on the Knob, , which describes itself as a blog that deals with Bargain reads, book reviews, the Amazon Kindle and some games, technology and computers tossed in now and then. This is where I heard about the Francis Schaeffer offer.

UPDATE: On Kindle and the iPhone, take a look at this title.

2 comments:

Macon said...

just downloaded the kindle for iphone app, the schaeffer book, and "His Majesty's Dragon," the first book in a series set in the Napoleonic Wars but where there are also dragons.

Thereby completely justifying the kindle for iphone download.

all three downloads were free!

Paul Stokes said...

Since I gave you this idea, you might consider sending me $9.99 per free download for, say, the next year.