Did you get your Kindle yet?

I ordered a Kindle in early December and Amazon said they were out, and they would email me when they could send me one, and that I could cancel at any time.....

ohmigod, I am getting impatient. Has any one received a Kindle that they did not get right when they ordered it? How long did you have to wait?

I got an email from Amazon today that started out "part of your order was shipped today" - and I jumped to the conclusion it was the Kindle! No, no, no.... just some books I ordered.

Can you tell me any thing to help me up my patience?

Drink yourself into a coma that lasts about a month and things will go by quicker. :P

Or amuse yourself in a more healthy way, like go on a small vacation, or committ to a project that will take a month to complete.(remodeling a room, painting around the house, redoing landscaping arrangements, read a lot of real books, etc.)

OK......but Madcow, what makes you think one month more will make a difference. I have already waited one month....I wish Amazon would put some progress reports into the ether.

Oh, well, I am going on a vacation and wouldn't having a Kindle be convenient...

I'll be checking my emails only once a day starting Jan. 9. Oh, how will I survive?

fine poke logical holes in my illogical suggestions.

not meaning to be mean, just beside myself, I guess

patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue, absence makes the heart grow fonder, patience is a virture, all good things come to those who wait (who the hell said that?)

more cliches ricocheting in my head....

There is a way to check on Amazon what your ship date range is... I remember reading about it back when I was waiting for mine. I will see if I can find the thread and get the info on how to do it. This may take a while for me since I am not that computer savvy.

thanks, bereader. I would enjoy that. I am leaving today for 2 weeks housesitting and I will only be on line once a day for about an hour. So if and when you figure it out, it may be a while before I can try it. But I will be there!

Found it! This is what you do: Go to amazon.com/gp/aw/ h.html go down to "your account", enter your password, choose "orders placed in the last 6 months", find your kindle order and click on "order details".

I hope this works. It worked for people on the Amazon forum that tried it. I didn't find this though, my husband did.

OK, I'm off to try that. I'll report in later. (-;

I did not find any estimate on delivery thru the Amazon site, darn. But I did receive an email saying that they now can tell me that, maybe, barring an unforseen strike of the UPS people, or the USPS people, etc. etc.

My kindle should be delivered between 1/25 and 2/1

do you believe it? or better yet, do I believe it?

I think I'll believe it when I see it!

Sorry that order details trick didn't work... but I'm glad you finally got a date range to look forward to! Have faith, it will come, hopefully closer to the 25th than the 1st.

Thanks. As I am housesitting until the 21st I think waiting these last few days will not be too hard. I appreciated your trying to help find me a date range. And see, it worked!

Today I received an email saying the Kindle has been shipped! Wooooowho! But I won't be home until Monday night or Tuesday morning. So I'll have to ask my neighbor to watch for it. But soon, soon, soon, I should be able to give you first impressions.

I was not sucked into the Amazon's "buy some books for your Kindle before you get it" hype. We'll see what happens when I actually can hold it.

Great news, maggie1944. I hope your enthusiasm will once again enliven our discussion. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the difference in the reading experience with the Kindle vs. the book. Also I wonder, will you tend to "read" the same type of book on both?

I predict only some of the books I want to read will be available to the Kindle. I am a sucker for books with beautiful pictues - craft how to books; building your home books; etc. So I think the Kindle will be good for some fiction and nonfiction that is popular. I will wonder whether some of the sci fi and fantasy I am attracte to will be available. More shall be revealed....

I can't wait to hear when you get it! Mine is a gift, so I may or may not hear even if they send an email; but it's heartening to know yours is on its way. And I'm happy for you!

At least they seem to have a fair amount of older classics and so on, and I can plunder Project Gutenberg, for which I'm glad.

Maggie is it there yet? Huh,Huh,Huh? Is it, Is it?

*jumps up and down excitedly*

It came today! I can't tell you exactly what time cuz I wasn't home when it was put on my porch. And darn it! I have to go out tonite to a potluck supper in the community so I can't just stay home and play with it. But I will tomorrow. And then I'll report back.

*jumping up and down with Madcow*

*claps and cheers* Yay! Wonderful news, Maggie! :)

I look forward to your comments. Enjoy it!!!

OK, now I've read a little on it and it is easy.

Oh, good!! Well, we look forward to hearing more. Happy reading, indeed!

I don't remember if this has been discussed: Are the books I buy for my Kindle books that I list in my inventory? I think I will but I'll code them in some way that it is clear I own a virtue copy, not a "dead trees" copy.

Maggie! Congrats! I like that you are referring to your kindle books as "virtue copies". I had mine listed as ebook, but I think I will change them to virtue :)

For free kindle books, you can go to manybooks.net and feedbooks.com. Both those sites have books already in kindle format. There are probably others, but these are what I have been using. Of course, they are the older classics, for the new stuff ya gotta get 'em at the kindle store.

Have fun!

Thanks bereader. So far I have bought a couple of books and am trying out the NY Times. I'll admit I like reading the newspaper in this format, without having to wrestle with large pages, folding and refolding, and straightening out wrinkles. Bleech!

It also told me that if I hit two buttons I could put it to sleep. Mine is sleeping for two nanoseconds. I am not sure what that means but I'll fiddle a bit more, and later, maybe I'll call some help line person.

In general, I am very very very happy with it. And my hands have no problem holding it, especially in bed. Yea!

Wonderful! Bereader, thanks for the links. Just the sort of thing for which I thought the Kindle could serve usefully. Maggie - you've named another. The paper will have much more appeal in neither huge smudgy hardcopy, nor on an immobile, less comfortable screen.

If mine comes roughly ten days - two weeks after yours, I might have it before I leave on a trip. Of course, I'm guessing when it was ordered, as it's a (very kind) gift.

Eurydice - and Amazon's claim of downloading your requests in seconds is true. So load up a book or two before you leave on your trip. Where are you going? The battery needs to be plugged in regularly so you may need an adapter if you are going out of the country.

No, just to Chicago. Thank you: sounds like I can get myself into trouble if I'm not careful! ;) - But I'll try to be. I'd like to buy a little, but keep it well within bounds. Loading some older books for free before leaving, and remembering to pack the charger (should it come!) will be a perfect beginning....

Just out of curiosity to see how long the battery lasts, I have not plugged mine in since last Thursday morning (4 days ago) and mine still shows full charge. I have the wireless part turned off, only turn it on for a couple of minutes a day to get my daily paper. When the wireless is on all the time, the battery runs down in a couple of days.

I will let everybody know when the charge finally runs out...

I just purchased A thousand splendid suns and have to go read now. I am liking this Kindle, so many books, so little time.

Maggie

Are you going to do a full review at some point? don't want to take away from your fun time, but I'd love to hear your opinion. :)

I am not the best reviewer in the pub but I can see a complete summary could be helpful, so I'll plan on doing that after I have had a little more practice. I woke early (3:30 AM!) this morning and Wow, I really enjoyed getting Tuesday's New York Times delivered to me in my bed. I read for a while, had a cup of hot chocolate, and then went back to sleep.

Sounds lovely. (Including resumed sleeping!)

I know what you mean, Maggie. I love waking up to my newspaper and not having to trek out in the cold to get it(especially today... 13 degrees F and strong north wind).

I just finished A thousand splendid suns last week or so. Pretty dark but I couldn't put it down. I was just going to read the free sample, but darn it, the sample ended in the middle of chapter three and by then I was hooked. Just one click and I had the whole thing in about 30 seconds.

Now I've done the same thing with Water for elephants. The free sample ended in the middle of chapter 2... I haven't succumbed to that instant purchase yet, but I'm weakening.

I figure I can justify buying a relatively new bestseller for maybe every 2 or 3 classics I finish that I get from Project Gutenberg sites. I just finished Sons and lovers and Wuthering heights so I can justify a new one, right?

Right! ;) I figured much the same, with a slightly longer ratio, or interspersing purchases in the same class as many of my real books: $0.49 - to $4.99. If I add a newspaper, as I've wanted to, instead of reading it online, it cuts the book budget. Is it worth it??? We'll go with a trial and see... but at the very least I'll buy a single Sunday edition every week. :)

I appreciate our creating a formula for keeping book/newspaper/magazine buying to a reasonable amount. This could so easily get completely out of control.

I wonder if I can cancel my subscription to Time magazine, get a refund, and then subscribe. Is it cheaper on Kindle? Does any one know yet?

Actually, I think that might be a bad idea because I have to have some light weight reading for my long, leisurely, warm baths.

Yesterday, while tutoring a ninth grader about research I showed her how looking up stuff in the Amazon store on the Kindle could help us with her research paper. Man, I am telling you - it is fun to be one step ahead of the teenage techno freaks.

LOL. I bet it is! (So rarely I am... ;) )

Wikipedia. In my bed.

I cannot wait.

(Silly, what else am I doing...?)

They're available now for immediate delivery (at least they were yesterday). Maybe I'll use my tax rebate.

Don't forget us indie writers! My novel about the German occupation of the English Channel Islands, War on the Margins: A Novel (It isn't touchstoning correctly yet) is now available in both Kindle and paperback (much cheaper on Kindle), and you can read the first chapter on my blog:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/ANOKWN2GWBHQ0

Libby Cone

Libby, your book sounds very interesting. Thanks for pointing out that it is available on Kindle.

You're welcome! I have been surprised that more Kindle Early Adopters haven't been rushing to buy indie works. I think it's a great way to keep abreast of what's new in literature.

Libby Cone aka reademwritem

Mine finally came, a couple of weeks ago! I was out of town, but am enjoying it very much, now....