The Kindle Chronicles

Amazon's General Manager

of Kindle Unlimited and Prime Reading

"There are so many types of readers. There are so many reasons, and so what we're just trying to do is make a service that is valuable and compelling, to delight readers."

Links

"Amazon Has Become America's CEO Factory" by Dana Mattioli at The Wall Street Journal - November 20, 2019

"Amazon's smart speakers outship Google's by almost triple, Canalys says" by Corinne Reichert at CNET - November 13, 2019

Amazon Black Friday Countdown deals

Amazon press release on Black Friday deals - November 18, 2019

Kindle Unlimited storefront

Click here to see your Kindle Unlimited subscription

The Weight of Ink and Tolstoy Lied: A Love Story by Rachel Kadish

The Forward Amazon Original Stories series, available on Kindle Unlimited

Slouching Towards Bethlehem: Essays by Joan Didion

Next Week's Guest:

Sarah Gelman, Director of Books PR and Editorial at Amazon, giving an overview of the Best Books of 2019

Click here to enable my daily Morning Journal flash briefing at the Alexa Skills store. You will then hear each day's entry by saying, "Alexa, what's new?"

Right-click here and then click "Save Link As..." to download the audio to your computer, phone, or MP3 player.

Author of the new short story collection, Nameless

"Once I came to that decision and came to Amazon, it has been so far one of the finest experiences I've ever had, working with the people in Amazon Original Stories and Amazon Publishing at Thomas & Mercer. Writers can't ask for more supportive, more interesting people to work with. So it turned out to be the right decision."

Links

DeanKoontz.com

Dean Koontz's author page at Amazon.com

The Nameless short story collection at Amazon

Devoted by Dean Koontz - Available for pre-order with delivery March 31, 2020

Ricochet Joe by Dean Koontz

My previous interview with Dean Koontz on January 13, 2018 - TKC 493

Next Week's Guest:

Natalia Montuori, GM Kindle Unlimited and Prime Reading at Amazon

Click here to enable my daily Morning Journal flash briefing at the Alexa Skills store. You will then hear each day's entry by saying, "Alexa, what's new?"

Right-click here and then click "Save Link As..." to download the audio to your computer, phone, or MP3 player.

Author, Editor, Professor & Speaker

Links

"The Best Amazon early Black Friday deals: Here's what's hot" by Rick Broida at CNET - November 7, 2019

Jane Friedman's blog and newsletters, Electric Speed (free) and The Hot Sheet (paid subscription)

How to Reform Capitalism by The School of Life

The Business of Being a Writer by Jane Friedman

Next Week's Guest:

Dean Koontz, author of the six-story Nameless series that will be released by Amazon Publishing on November 12, 2019

Click here to enable my daily Morning Journal flash briefing at the Alexa Skills store. You will then hear each day's entry by saying, "Alexa, what's new?"

Right-click here and then click "Save Link As..." to download the audio to your computer, phone, or MP3 player.

The Yorkie Claire

June 7, 2005 - October 24, 2019

Links

Kindle Kids Edition - $110 at Amazon.com

YouTube video of Claire picking John Aga as the winning entry for a Fire Tablet nine years ago

Instagram photos of our Yorkie Claire, RIP

All the Dogs of My Life by Elizabeth Von Arnim

Video of Claire chasing a ball on Christmas, 2015

Music for my podcast is from an original Thelonius Monk composition named "Well, You Needn't." This version is "Ra-Monk" by Eval Manigat on the "Variations in Time: A Jazz Perspective" CD by Public Transit Recording" CD.

Please Join the Kindle Chronicles group at Goodreads!

This episode is dedicated to the memory of our Yorkie Claire, peacefully departed from this world here in Maine yesterday.

Click here to enable my daily Morning Journal flash briefing at the Alexa Skills store. You will then hear each day's entry by saying, "Alexa, what's new?"

Right-click here and then click "Save Link As..." to download the audio to your computer, phone, or MP3 player.

Director, Kids and Family at Amazon

Interview starts at 13:20 and ends at 40:57

Links

Amazon Go store locations

"Report of Amazon Go Coming to Airports Is a Sign of Far Greater Change to Come" by Chris Walton at Forbes - October 10, 2-019

Amazon's Leadership Principles

Kindle Kids Edition

Rick Riordan author's page at Amazon.com

Primed Podcast from KUOW in Seattle

Land of the Giants podcast from Vox

"Introducing the News app on Fire TV" by Puneet Puri at the Fire TV blog - October 22, 2019

The Daily Recount

Instagram photos of our Yorkie Claire, RIP

Music for my podcast is from an original Thelonius Monk composition named "Well, You Needn't." This version is "Ra-Monk" by Eval Manigat on the "Variations in Time: A Jazz Perspective" CD by Public Transit Recording" CD.

Please Join the Kindle Chronicles group at Goodreads!

This episode is dedicated to the memory of our Yorkie Claire, peacefully departed from this world here in Maine yesterday.

Click here to enable my daily Morning Journal flash briefing at the Alexa Skills store. You will then hear each day's entry by saying, "Alexa, what's new?"

Right-click here and then click "Save Link As..." to download the audio to your computer, phone, or MP3 player.

Retired Elementary School Teacher in Upton, Wyoming

Interview starts at 5:31 and ends at 33:07

Links

"Millions of Amazon Echo and Kindle Devices Affected by WiFi Bug" by Lawrence Abrams at Bleeping Computer - October 17, 2019

Christi Ross Crain interviewed as Teacher of the Year in 2012 (YouTube)

Upton, Wyoming

Killing England: The Brutal Struggle for American Independence by Bill O'Reilly

Fall; or, Dodge in Hell: A Novel and Reamde: A Novel by Neal Stephenson

Neal Stephenson's author page at Amazon.comMusic for my podcast is from an original Thelonius Monk composition named "Well, You Needn't." This version is "Ra-Monk" by Eval Manigat on the "Variations in Time: A Jazz Perspective" CD by Public Transit Recording" CD.

Please Join the Kindle Chronicles group at Goodreads!

Click here to enable my daily Morning Journal flash briefing at the Alexa Skills store. You will then hear each day's entry by saying, "Alexa, what's new?"

Right-click here and then click "Save Link As..." to download the audio to your computer, phone, or MP3 player.

Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research

Interview starts at 13:04 and ends at 51:49

"We don't want to be constantly wired. We don't want brain implants. We just want the ability to get information and communication when we need it and the way we need it. Amazon is essentially saying, 'in your car, on your ear, in your pocket? Sure. In your environment, your home. We're just going to thread all this together, so that you can use it when you need it, and it just disappears in the background when you don't.'"

Links

"Is Amazon Unstoppable?" by Charles Duhigg at The New Yorker - October 10, 2019

"Jeff Bezos's Master Plan" by Franklin Foer at The Atlantic - November, 2019

Amazon Fire HD 10 (2019) vs. Fire HD 10 (2017) by Simon Hill at Digital Trends - October 7, 2019

All-new Kindle Kids Edition ($110) at Amazon.com - Available October 30, 2019

Kindle with Audible Narration books

List of 10,000+ Whispersync for Voice-enabled books for children ages 9-12

IndieWire review of "Jexi" - October 11, 2019

Oura heartrate monitor ring

LOOMO personal robot - $1,799 at Amazon.com

Neal Stephenson's author page at Amazon.com

Fall; or, Dodge in Hell: A Novel and Reamde: A Novel by Neal Stephenson

The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe

Apollo by Catherine Bly Cox and Charles Murray

Music for my podcast is from an original Thelonius Monk composition named "Well, You Needn't." This version is "Ra-Monk" by Eval Manigat on the "Variations in Time: A Jazz Perspective" CD by Public Transit Recording" CD.

Please Join the Kindle Chronicles group at Goodreads!

Click here to enable my daily Morning Journal flash briefing at the Alexa Skills store. You will then hear each day's entry by saying, "Alexa, what's new?"

Right-click here and then click "Save Link As..." to download the audio to your computer, phone, or MP3 player.

Author of The Book Business: What Everyone Needs to Know

Interview starts at 15:54 and ends at 49:25

Links

LEGOLAND in Boston

"Why You should Remove All Color on Your iPhone" (YouTube) by All I Talk Is Tech - October 27, 2018

Echo Glow - $30

"Why you may have to wait longer to check out an e-book from your local library" by Jenny McGrath at Digital Trends - September 13, 2019

Macmillan CEO John Sargent's letter announcing change in eBook sales to public libraries - July 25, 2019

"Why Angry Librarians Are Going to War with Publishers over E-Books" by Heather Schwedel at Slate - September 11, 2019

The Book Business: What Everyone Needs to Know by Mike Shatzkin and Robert Paris Riger

The Shatzkin Files

Mike Shatzkin's essays about climate change and other topics at Medium

"Cheap Words: Amazon is good for customers. But is it good for books?" by George Packer at The New Yorker - February 4, 2014

Books recommended by Mike Shatzkin:

Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe by Roger McNamee

Serious Eater: A Food Lover's Perilous Quest for Pizza and Redemption by Ed Levine

The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells

Merchants of Truth: The Business of News and the Fight for Facts by Jill Abramson

Echo Flex - $25

Next Week's Show

James McQuivey, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research

Music for my podcast is from an original Thelonius Monk composition named "Well, You Needn't." This version is "Ra-Monk" by Eval Manigat on the "Variations in Time: A Jazz Perspective" CD by Public Transit Recording" CD.

Please Join the Kindle Chronicles group at Goodreads!

Right-click here and then click "Save Link As..." to download the audio to your computer, phone, or MP3 player.

Your Host in front of the Spheres at Amazon in Seattle

Amazon press releases related to media briefing on September 26, 2019:

8 New Echo Devices

Devices and Services for Smart Home

My Morning Journal flash briefing for Alexa - Enable it, then ask "Alexa, what's new?" to hear my daily audio journal on your Echo devices.

Next week's guest: Mike Shatzkin

Music for my podcast is from an original Thelonius Monk composition named "Well, You Needn't." This version is "Ra-Monk" by Eval Manigat on the "Variations in Time: A Jazz Perspective" CD by Public Transit Recording" CD.

Please Join the Kindle Chronicles group at Goodreads!

Right-click here and then click "Save Link As..." to download the audio to your computer, phone, or MP3 player.

Host of the Solopreneur Hour Podcast

Links

Solopreneur Hour Podcast

The Art of the Interview Course

Agents of Change conference in Portland, Maine

Flyte New Media, founded by Rich Brooks

Jen Lehner Media

Jen Lehner's Alexa Flash Briefing course

Soundup

Next Week's Show

Mike Shatzkin, creator of The Shatzkin Files

Music for my podcast is from an original Thelonius Monk composition named "Well, You Needn't." This version is "Ra-Monk" by Eval Manigat on the "Variations in Time: A Jazz Perspective" CD by Public Transit Recording" CD.

Please Join the Kindle Chronicles group at Goodreads!

Right-click here and then click "Save Link As..." to download the audio to your computer, phone, or MP3 player.