Amazon.com Inc. has begun allowing customers to give its Kindle e-books to others.
Before, customers could only give gift certificates to cover the cost of an e-book.
To receive a Kindle e-book gift, the recipient only needs an e-mail address, not necessarily a Kindle. Although the e-reader starts at $139 for a version that can download content over Wi-Fi, Amazon also offers a number of free applications that can be used to read Kindle books on gadgets such as laptops, tablet computers and smart phones.
Amazon reiterated that millions are reading Kindle books on the dedicated e-reader and on free apps. This still doesn’t give an indication of how many people have bought the Kindle — something the Seattle-based company has never given precise details about. But it does make it clear that many people are flocking to Amazon’s device and Kindle software.
There are more than 725,000 books in Amazon’s Kindle Store.
As an author with a book now available as a Kindle edition, (with editions in paperback and hardcover too) I am just thrilled that this new avenue for sharing reading is available. And as a reader – what more could one want than more places to find literature. So many have said that the publishing world is falling apart, crashing and burning. Not so. It’s simply reinventing itself and frankly, this may be one of the most exciting times ever in the history of literature, books, and publishing.
Embrace it.
David W. Berner
Author, ACCIDENTAL LESSONS