The Kindle Chronicles

Author of Winter World

Interview starts at 17:30 and ends at 43:00

"My books almost always deal with an extinction-level event or the pushing of humanity to the brink at times."

Comments

Mark Isero's Kindle Classroom Project

Kindle Direct Publishing eBook Quality Dashboard

Interview with A G Riddle

A G Riddle's books at Amazon.com

My interview with A G Riddle in July, 2018 on TKC 520

News

Amazon to stop selling its Dash buttons - Fast Company and BBC

Last-Ditch effort to save NYC Amazon Jobs - The Hill

"How Amazon Taught the Echo Auto to Hear You In a Noisy Car" by Dhananjay Motwani at Wired - March 4, 2019

"How Amazon's Algorithms Curated a Dystopian Bookstore" by Joel Saget at Wired - March 5, 2018

"Amazon to reportedly close all of its 87 pop-up stores in the US beginning in April" by Todd Haselton at CNBC - march 6, 2019

"Health Venture of Amazon, Berkshire, JP Morgan Has a Name: Haven" by Anna Wilde Mathews at The Wall Street Journal - March 6, 2019 (Note: My audio erroneously says the third partner is Chase instead of JPMorgan.)

Next Week's Show - Almost-Live from South By Southwest Interactive

TKC 555 on March 22 - Bestselling author Michael J. Sullivan

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.

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Len teaching a creative writing class at Belmont Hill School

Audio starts at 12:59 and ends at 54:39

News

"Amazon Alexa and the Search for the One Perfect Answer" by James Vlahos at Wired - February 18, 2019

Tech Tip

"How to hear (and delete) every conversation your Amazon Alexa has recorded" by Natt Garun at The Verge - February 28, 2019

Audio from my presentation at Belmont Hill School

Blue Yeti microphone - $103 at Amazon.com

Libsyn.com

Wattpad

Medium

MailChimp

Tech Tonic podcast with John Thornhill

Evil Genius podcast with Dave Slusher

Pardon My Take podcast

The Joe Rogen Experience podcast

Next Week's Guest

AG Riddle, author of Winter World, released February 26, 2019

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!

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Executive Director of Two Lions and Amazon Crossing Kids

Interview starts at 23:18 and ends at 43:02

"We would really love to discover books from all over the globe, especially from diverse regions that may not be as well-known to a young English readership. We want the list to be dynamic and really showcase every possible language and culture that we're able to."

News

"How New York Lost Amazon" on The Daily podcast - February 21, 2019

"Amazon's grave HQ2 mistake: The political landscape changed but the company's playbook didn't" by Jason Del Rey at Recode - February 15, 2019

"Amazon Go and Scan-&-Go Detractors Need to Stop Burying Their Heads in the Sand Like Ostriches" by Chris Walton at Forbes - February 15, 2019

"Amazon's Echo Wall Clock is back on sale after connectivity fix" byAJ Dellinger at Engadget - February 18, 2019

Echo Wall Clock at Amazon.com - $29.99

Tech Tips

AmazonBasics Microwave with Alexa - $59.99 at Amazon.com

Wait Wait Quiz skill for Alexa

Vintage Radio skill for Alexa

"Alexa Cast Sends Music from the Amazon Music App to Alexa Devices" at Love My Echo

Amazon Music streaming with Alexa Cast - Amazon.com

Interview with Kelsey Skea

Amazon press release announcing Amazon Crossing Kids - January 25, 2019

"Amazon Publishing Launches Amazon Crossing Kids" by John Maher at Publishers Weekly - January 25, 2019

Amazon Crossing Kids, Two Lions and Amazon Crossing imprints

Corduroy by Don Freeman, Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell and Lillian Hoban, Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey, and the Babar books by Jean De Brunhoff and Isabel Alonso Gomes

To be published in 2019 by Amazon Crossing Kids: Spiky by Ilaria Guarducci translated by Laura Watkinson (July 1), A Tiger Like Me by Michael Engler translated by Laura Watkinson (September 1), and Along the Tapajós by Fernando Vilela translated by Daniel Hahn (October 1, 2019)

Click here to propose a book for translation by Amazon Crossing

Next Week's Guest

A. G. Riddle, author of Winter World, available for pre-order, to be released February 26, 2019

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.

Click here if you'd like to play the "Ocean Park Blues" YouTube video I created for my father's 92nd birthday this week

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Author of Early Riser: A Novel

Interview starts at 11:47 and ends at 39:00

News

Amazon to buy Eero - in Wired and Yahoo Finance

Amazon drops plans for HQ2 in New York (Washington Post)

Tech Tips

VoiceBrew podcast on Alexa tips (via Bradley Metrock's This Week in Voice podcast)

Interview with Jasper Fforde

Early Riser: A Novel at Amazon.com

Early Riser web site and "What's the book about?"

Shades of Grey: A Novel

Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker

Three episodes of the Bonanza TV series - free on Prime Video

The Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde

Comments

Classical music list from listener John Aga:

1. Leonard Bernstein's Young People's Guide to Classical Music available through YouTube: They are broken into 95 easily digestible clips over many public concerts.
2. Beethoven's 9th Symphony (Ode To Joy portion) as done by a musical flash mob.
3. George Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue. https://youtu.be/cH2PH0auTUU
4. Edvard Grieg, Peer Gynt Suite Number 1. https://youtu.be/dyM2AnA96yE
5. P.Dukas. The Sorcerer's Apprentice.
6. Appalachian Spring - Aaron Copland LIVE.
7. Pictures at an exhibition - Suite in 10 movements – Moussorgski.
8. Rimsky-Korsakov. Scheherazade. Movement 1.
9. Eine kleine Nachtmusik. Mozart.
10. Simple Gifts as performed by Cantus.
11. Puccini: "O mio babbino caro" / Performed by Renee Fleming.

John: Cantus is a particular favorite of mine and their home is here in Minnesota. This Tiny Desk Concert is courtesy of NPR. NPR has been doing a series of these Tiny Desk concerts for a long time.

Next Week's Guest

Kelsey Skea, head of the new Amazon Crossing Kids imprint

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.

Author of Year of Wonder: Classical Music to Enjoy Every Day

Interview starts at 18:16 and ends at 42:30

"I wanted to demystify the music itself, and I wanted to humanize the people who created it, because I think we often think about classical composers being these dead, white European guys invariably from Germany and Austria somewhere in the 18th century maybe with a frock coat, maybe with a powdered wig, definitely on some kind of pedestal occupying a lofty, elevated space that has no bearing on real people's everyday lives. What's incredibly humbling when you start to get to know these composers is that they're just human beings like you and me, just trying to survive their lives, to express themselves through this particular art form."

News

"No thank you, Mr. Pecker" by Jeff Bezos at Medium - February 7, 2019

"Facing opposition, Amazon reconsiders N.Y. headquarters site, two officials say" by The Washington Post - February 8, 2019

Kindle Paperwhite on sale for $100 - $30 off

Tech Tip

MobiScribe E-ink Notepad - $214

MobiScribe v5.18 Beginner's guide

Rocketbook Everlast Reusable Smart Notebook - $30

AmazonBasics Alexa Microwave - $42

Interview with Clemency Burton-Hill

Year of Wonder: Classical Music to Enjoy Day by Day by Clemency Burton-Hill

Year of Wonder playlists at iTunes and Spotify

WQXR Radio in New York City

Aria Code podcast

Scala Radio launch in the UK

Content

Early Riser: A Novel by Jasper Fforde - to be released February 12, 2019

Winter World by A. G. Riddle - to be released February 26, 2019

Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer

The Man Who Played with Fire: Stieg Larsson's Lost Files and the Hunt for an Assassin by Jan Stocklassa, translated by Tara F. Chace - to be released October 1, 2019

Next Week's Guest

Kelsey Skea, head of the new Amazon Crossing Kids imprint

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.

Author of

This is Marketing: You Can't Be Seen Until You Learn to See

Interview starts at 13:06 and ends at 45:08

"I have a bunch of regrets about how Amazon is steering the boat these days. One of the things I think they dropped the ball on is they've had a hundred opportunities to make Kindle a social platform, and they have dropped it. And they shouldn't, because that is a really useful transformation--to be able to say 'Where are the other thousand people who highlighted this? How can I have a discussion with them?' That's magic, and you can't do it." (Photo by Brian Bloom)

News

Amazon earnings release

Om Malik on Amazon earnings release

Tech Tip

How to load the Google Play Store onto your Fire tablet

Interview with Seth Godin

Seth Godin's blog and The Marketing Seminar

This is Marketing: You Can't Be Seen Until You Learn to See by Seth Godin

Genius (formerly known as Rap Genius) commentary by Seth Godin on his book The Purple Cow

What to Do When It's Your Turn (and It's Always Your Turn) by Seth Godin

The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World by David Deutsch

An Analog Novel (3 Book Series) by Eliot Peper

Content

The Killer Collective by Barry Eisler

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.

Tech Tip from John Aga

When installing the Google Play Store to your Fire tablet, it is important to do it in order as indicated in the article. I downloaded each one with a minute or two between downloads. I have a file manager app on my Fire tablet that not only displays the name of the file but the time the file was downloaded. You have to download them in a specific order then click and execute them in the same specific order. If you down load them a minute or two apart is easier then telling them apart based on their file name. It went smoothly when I did it. I was sure to download the file specified in the article even if I got messages that there was a newer versions available. I do not know if that was important or not but it was the approach I took. It will be important that Google Play Services and the Google Play Store are the first ones updated before downloading any other apps from the Google Play Store.

Some time after I have installed the Google Play Store on my Amazon Fire 10" HD tablet, I started to get the message " cannot access the server" whenever I opened the Google Play Store. To resolve this I went into settings, then clicked on Apps and Games, then clicked on Manage All Applications, then clicked on the app Google Play Store. Then I clicked on "clear cache, clear memory, and force stop". I then rebooted my tablet and the problem was gone. If it should happen again I would just repeat these steps to clear it up.

Another tech tip: On a separate subject I have notice that sometimes after I have updated one or more apps, one or more apps will move from the SD card back to internal memory. This is easily resolved. First click on settings. Second click on storage. Third all your settings should be set by default to include "install supported apps on your SD card". The other settings you want have on are to download movies, music, photos, personal videos, audiobooks and ebooks to your SD card. About one third down on the storage page the SD card and amount of storage is displayed. Just below that there is a command to "Move Apps to SD Card". Just below that it will either say "0" apps available or it will say if there are one or more apps available to move back to the SD card. Just click on that and it will automatically move any apps that moved back to internal during an app update and move them back to the SD card. This can take just a few seconds or a minute or two depending on how many apps there are to move back to the SD card. It is worth checking this once and awhile to ensure your Amazon Fire Tablet is using all storage in the most effective way possible.

Author of Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives

Interview starts at 15:43 and ends at 43:50

"You can be super clever and have all your tricks, but fundamentally everything in your life is crowding out something else in your life. At some point you have to choose, and the choice should be thoughtful."

News

"The Prime Challenges for Amazon's New Delivery Robot" by Matt Simon and Arielle Pardes Gear at Wired - January 23, 2019

"Meet Scout: Field testing a new delivery system with Amazon Scout" by Sean Scott at Amazon's Day One blog - January 23, 2019

Tech Tip

Starbucks Reorder skill for Alexa

Interview with Tim Harford

Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform Our Lives by Tim Harford

"How frustration can make us more creative" - TED talk by Tim Harford in September, 2015

"Tim Harford: how behavioral economics helped kick my phone addiction" at The Financial Times - January 17, 2019 (Behind paywall, try Googling the title)

Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World by Cal Newport - Available for pre-order, to be delivered February 5, 2019

Feedly

Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier

Hello World: Being Human in the Age of Algorithms by Hannah Fry

The Art of Statistics: Learning from Data by David Spiegelhalter - Available for pre-order at Amazon.co.uk to be delivered March 28, 2019

The Invention of Science: A New History of the Scientific Revolution by David Wootton

Meltdown: Why Our Systems Fail and What We Can Do About It by Chris Clearfield

Marie Kondo's website

The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon by Brad Stone

Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure by Tim Harford

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy BBC podcast by Tim Harford

Fifty Inventions That Shaped the Modern Economy by Tim Harford

Fright Tonight Alexa skill

Content

Early Riser by Jasper Fforde - available for preorder (hardcover only) with delivery February 12, 2019

The Opposite of Woe: My Life in Beer and Politics by John Hickenlooper

Next Week's Guest

Seth Godin, author of This Is Marketing: You Can't be Seen Until You Learn to See

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.

Project Manager for MobiScribe reader/writer by TeamUC

Interview starts at 18:37 and ends at 41:06

"It's basically going to be like a Kindle that you can write on. If you've ever had your work documents on the Kindle it must be frustrating, because you feel like you can't write on your work documents even though you have it in a meeting. So now we have PDF annotation integrated into the device as well as a separate note-taking software."

Comments

Open Road Integrated Media list of eBooks, by category

Sprocket Photo Paper and camera from Hewlett Packard

Polaroid Swinger camera, circa 1965 (Wikipedia)

"Alexa gains support for location-based reminders and routines, calling features and more" by Sarah Perez at TechCrunch - December, 2018

News

The challenge of covering the Bezos divorce for The Washington Post - Vanity Fair January 14, 2019

"Ghosts of former Sears buildings could become shiny new Whole Foods" at The Takeout - January 11, 2019

"Amazon is holding a public version of its secretive MARS conference" by Brian Heater at TechCrunch - January 17, 2019

"How behavioral economics helped kick my phone addiction" by Tim Harford at The Financial Times - January 17, 2019

Interview with Roger Wang

MobiScribe project at Indiegogo

Wacom

TeamUC Facebook page

APKPure

Calibre

reMarkable tablet

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.

Author of Typeset in the Future: Typography and Design in Science Fiction Movies

Interview starts at 18:51and ends at 43:30

"So much of this stuff that, when we watch 2001 today, makes it feel fresh, makes it still feel futuristic was way ahead of its time at the time that the movie was created."

News

"The 'Future Book' is Here, But It's Not What We Expected" by Craig Mod at Wired - December 20, 2018

Amazon Showroom - TechCrunch story

Amazon Key for Garage - Verge story

Echo Auto is shipping - TechCrunch story

Amazon pilot project with free samples - Axios story

Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos to divorce - WSJ story

Tech Tip

Readwise now has autosync of your highlights

Interview with Dave Addey

Typeset in the Future: Typography and Design in Science Fiction Movies

Content

Freedive, the new IMDB streaming service WSJ

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.

Chief Marketing Officer at Open Road Integrated Media

Interview starts at 9:51 and ends at 38:35

"I do think we're unusual in that we consistently continue to market these books day in and day out for many years. I think that's the benefit we bring to our partners in the Open Road Ignition program, that we are taking those eBooks that they don't have time or resources to market in an ongoing way and doing it on their behalf."

News

"Amazon, to Win in Booming Rural India, Reinvents Itself" by Eric Bellman at The Wall Street Journal - December 31, 2018

Russ Grandinetti interviewed for Amazon's Day One Blog - November 14, 2017

"Hiring for Amazon's Alexa team massively outpaces that of Apple's Siri" by James Mattone at Thinknum - January 3, 2019

"Alexa, what's a screen pass? Amazon speaker can teach football to casual NFL fans" by Edward C. Baig at USA Today - January 3, 2019

Tech Tip

Alexa voice commands for Hulu

Interview with Mary McAveney

Open Road Integrated Media

"New Life for Old Classics, as Their Copyrights Run Out" by Alexandra Alter at The New York Times - December 29, 2018

Cane: A Library of America eBook Classic by Jean Toomer ($9.99 on Kindle)

Content

"The 50 Best TV Shows on Amazon Prime Right Now" at Paste - January 3, 2019

Comments

2019 Goodreads challenge

The Autobiography of Mark Twain: Deluxe Modern Classic

Echo Spot - $130 at Amazon.com

Next Week's Guest

Dave Addey, author of Typeset in the Future: Typography and Design in Science Fiction Movies

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.