Kindle Lending - What Will You Be Reading In 2011 Thanks to Amazon's New Lending Program?

Happy New Year! As a New Year's Eve gift, Amazon's Kindle began it's promised lending program on New Year's Eve. Thousands of Kindle users are thrilled to have the oppurtunity to read more - and share their books.

Have you ever read a great book and just had to tell a friend about it? Are you always recomending books to friends? Kindle finally recognized this and made book sharing possible on the Kindle device.

There are plenty of Kindle books that are available for lending. However, not every book you own will be 'lendable'. This is out of Amazon's hands - it is up to the publisher and has to do with complicated copyright laws.

As it stands now, you can loan any 'loanable' book in your Kindle library once for a period of 14 days. The loan has to be set up using a computer. Amazon will probably tweak this and allow the process to work via your Kindle device in the future.

The Amazon Kindle site has an in-depth explanation of the lending process. Let's look at a simplified version:

1.Determine if a book is lendable. If a book can be loaned out it will be marked 'enabled' under the ASIN code. For books already in your library, a yellow indicator will appear at the top with the words "loan this book to anyone you choose".

Click on the 'Loan this book' link to initiate the lending process. You will be directed to page and fill out the requested info. The recipient will get an email from Amazon which includes the link to accept the book.

Warnings:
There are a few things that have come to my attention right off the bat - I think the lending program is going to be great and I am very excited, but with anything there are kinks that need to be worked out.

One of the biggest kinks is the inability of the book owner to access the book when it is on loan. This makes little sense - are we being punished? But - if I am honest with myself I have to admit I cannot read my traditional books when I loan them to friends. Even so...I would still like to have access - what if we want to discuss?

The other warnings are just things you need to keep in mind. As stated earlier, each book can only be lent once. So, you can lend 'A Confederacy of Dunces' to Aunt Slyvia, but your cousin May will have to buy her own Kindle copy.

Also, books are only on loan for 14 days. This is a fairly decent time to read almost any book. But keep it in mind if you are borrowing books. Do not go crazy and borrow so many books at one time that you cannot read them all in the alloted time.

Now, for the exciting part of the Kindle lending program...What are reading and what is in your library? I have close to 300 books on my Kindle and will be posting lendable titles on this site for anyone interested in borrowing a book. I hope readers and Kindle lovers will do the same - a wonderful community of readers and a great collection of books - what could be better? You will come away with new and exciting reads and new friends.

Where have you been reading your Kindle? Where will you be reading your Kindle in the New Year? Post your answers and let us know!

New Kindle Announcements From Amazon

Amazon made 2 groundbreaking announcements on October 22. First, Kindle magazines and newspapers will soon be availble across devices. For example, if you purchase a Kindle magazine you can read it on your Kindle and read it on your iphone Kindle app. This is great news for all of us who enjoy reading newspapers and mags on our Kindles. The philoshpy from Amazon is 'buy once, read everywhere'!
The new technology will be available in the coming weeks. To begin with, the technology will be availble on iphones, ipads, and the ipod touch. Next, Amazon will work to get the Android on board along with other formats.
The second major annoucement is no less exciting...
Kindle owners will soon have the power to loan ebooks! Kindle owners can loan Kindle books to other Kindle owners via a Kindle device or app. The loan takes place for 14 days. Each book can be loaned only once and the lender cannot read the book during the period it is on loan.
Not all ebooks will be availble for lending. The option is dependent on the publisher and/or the person who owns the rights to the book.
I think this is one of the most exciting things to come out of the Kindle world in some time. I know other Kindle users I would love to trade books with for a short time. I think people might even buy a Kindle if they realize they have this new option.
No word from Amazon if the new lending option requires the Kindle owner to download a software update. Stay tuned for more information. It will be posted as it becomes availble!
Where did you read your Kindle today? It was a gorgeous fall day here. I got to sit on my front porch, enjoy the changing leaves, and read in the gentle breeze. What was I reading? A book I downloaded some time ago but never got around to reading...Elizabeth Street. Anybody read this book?