The fact that you don’t reveal your reading activity to the public doesn’t mean your sensitive data is 100% protected.

The rise of e-books has brought a new era of reading convenience, but it has also raised concerns about privacy.

Opposite to social media, what you read is supposed to stay private. And this single thing makes you extremely vulnerable. Among the books you’ve read, there may be some you would never discuss publicly.

The book you are reading in a privacy of your bedroom says more about you than the dozens of Caturday posts you share on Instagram or Mastodon.

However, major e-book publishers and tech giants like Amazon, Rakuten Kobo, Google, or Apple are collecting vast amounts of data on your reading habits, anyway. It includes what books you read, when you read them, how long you spend on each page, and which device you use.

The reason is they want to improve your reading experience and book discovery. But they also use it to target ads – and who knows what else.

At the same time, ebook publishers and sellers do nothing or little to offer users transparent privacy rules and settings. And there are a lot of things to do in this area. Here is a set of basic privacy settings users should have in ebooks and audiobooks.

The Fast Company reports that a congressional letter was issued from a coalition of groups that include civil rights, anti-surveillance, anti-book ban, racial justice, LGBTQ+, and immigrant.

The coalition calls on federal lawmakers to investigate the digital reader surveillance. Activists argue that the data collection is an invasion of privacy and that it could have negative consequences for freedom of expression and their ability to access information.

This investigation is an essential first step to revive the right to read without fear of having your interests used against you. Because, unfortunately, that right is on life support when it comes to digital books. 

The future of reading is at stake, and lawmakers must act to protect readers. We need strong privacy laws that apply to e-book readers, and we need to hold these companies accountable for their data collection practices.

Please keep it in mind: every time you sync your e-reader or app is the time you are sending your sensitive data to the company that may process it.

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Amazon has just launched Your Books, a personalized space with all your print, Kindle, and Audible books. However, the service doesn’t include your sideloaded ebooks.

Amazon seems to understand that many Kindle and Audible users keep buying print books.

The company has just launched a new service that will let you access all the books you have ever purchased on Amazon – and in any possible format.

Called Amazon Your Books, the service “is a personalized space to explore all of your print, Kindle, and Audible books”.

From now on, you don’t have to go separately to the Content Library (to find Kindle ebooks and Audible audiobooks) and the Orders history (to find print books).

The service is designed to help you find books easier, and the format doesn’t really matter. When you visit the home page of Your Books, you will see the filter bar at the top.

An interesting thing is that filters are adjusted to the content of your library. The “Suggested filters” bar lets you quickly find books based on your favorite format, but also genre or author. If you have many books from the “history” genre, you will have a “history” filter button. Or the “Stephen King” button, if you have bought a lot of King’s books.

When you filter your books to a specific genre, all the formats will be displayed: print, Kindle, and audiobook.

What’s interesting, the service lets you combine the filters. You can, for instance, find all the books from the “mystery & thrillers” genre that are in the Kindle format.

Amazon wants the new service to be “your personal book sanctuary”, and it means not only the books you’ve bought, but also about the ones you may buy. Yes, Your Books is Amazon’s another tool to get you into buying more stuff.

Just enable the “discovery mode” by clicking on the button in the top-right corner, and for every book in your library, you will see a list of similar items to consider.

A great thing about Your Books is that it also includes a quick link to your Notes and Highlights, an online preview of all the remarks you’ve made in your Kindle ebooks.

The biggest disadvantage of Your Books service is that it doesn’t include your personal files that you have added to your Kindle library. Amazon thinks they are not your books.

Don’t worry, all your sideloaded ebooks are still available from your Amazon profile section. They are stored in a Content Library section in a drop-down list that appears when you click on a menu item with your name.

One important thing to know is that Your Books is not a part of your profile list (and I hope it will change in the future).

So far, there are two ways to access the Amazon Your Books home page:

▸ Go directly to the dedicated url link at amazon.com/yourbooks.

▸ Type “your books” in Amazon’s search bar, and the section will appear right at the top of search results.

Are you planning to try Amazon Your Books? Are you missing your personal ebooks in here? What would you improve in the section?

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This simple guide will let you use an iconic composition notebook design as a Kindle screensaver image.

Custom Kindle lockscreen covers are getting popular these days, thanks to a TikTok hit video that talks about how to replace the default screensaver image with your own one.

All you have to do is create an image, convert it to an epub format, and send the file to your Kindle. Then, go to Settings » Device Options on your Kindle, and enable Display Cover.

This way, you can customize the Kindle lockscreen image with anything you like. You can use a graphic program or an online design tool, such as Canva or Pixlr, to upload and modify one of your photos or create an image from scratch.

If you are a fan of composition notebooks, I will show you how you quickly create a ready-to-use image that you can customize with your name or text. It will take no more than 30 seconds to have the design ready.

The trick is that you can use Zazzle online platform to customize the design and then just make a screenshot.

Zazzle is one of the leading online stores connecting designers and consumers. I have created a few notebook designs here, and anyone can customize them by just typing a name.

Obviously, you don’t have to buy anything on Zazzle. Just use the personalization option to add your name and make a screenshot that will have a resolution that’s suitable for a Kindle display.

Later in the post, you will see four of my composition notebook designs. All you have to do is follow this simple guide.

How to personalize a composition notebook design?

1. Pick up any of the covers listed below and follow the link to the Zazzle store.

2. On Zazzle, click on either the “Personalize” button or “Personalize this template” link.

3. Start typing your name or custom text in the text area. The text will appear on the design as you type.

4. Use the screenshot tool on your computer to grab the cover image.

5. The notebook design has the proportions that are close to the proportions of Kindle models (except the Oasis and Scribe, which are much wider).

To get the proportions that would fit the display of your Kindle perfectly, you can crop and resize an image using Image Resizer. It’s the simplest and most user-friendly image modification tool I’ve found online.

Here are the screen resolutions of the popular Kindle models:

▸ Kindle 11 (2022) – 1072 ×  1448 px
▸ Kindle Paperwhite 5 (2021) – 1236 × 1648 px
▸ Kindle Scribe (2022) – 1860 ×  2480 px
▸ Kindle Oasis 3 (2019) – 1264 × 1680 px

What is a composition notebook?

The pseudo-marbling composition notebook pattern emerged in Western Europe in the mid-19th century. However, the origins of this timeless design, that’s loved by users all over the world, date back to the 12th century Japan.

Composition notebook is one of the most popular designs picked for Kindle case covers. Imagine: you can have it not only as a case cover, but also the actual front of the Kindle itself.

An inseparable part, and something that completes the beauty of the composition book, is its label. Crafted, cut, and stamped by hand, it’s a proof that everything you write inside is exceptional.

Personalized composition notebook lockscreen covers for Kindle

Classic composition notebook

This vintage artwork is inspired by a legendary composition notebook with a unique dual-color pattern and semi-oval label. It’s available in eight colors, including black, green, and pink.

For the best contrast, I recommend using the black variant shown and visualized below.

Suminagashi paper composition notebook

This modern, unique pattern is a photorealistic replica of the classic Japanese Suminagashi marbling. 

Suminagashi marbling, also known as “floating ink,” is an ancient Japanese paper marbling technique. The process involves floating inks on the surface of a water basin and then pressing paper onto the surface to capture the patterns.

Mulberry paper composition notebook

The artwork lets you admire the natural beauty of papier-mâché. This pattern is inspired by the look of mulberry paper with full-sized leaves. I’ve used a modern label design to amplify the gentle structure of the background.

Marbled paper composition notebook

This vintage design recreates the feel of an outstanding marbled paper technology used for classic notebooks in the 18th and 19th century. The distressed label comes with a retro font face and other elements that were common in the classic composition notebook design.

If you would like to try other designs, make sure to explore my collection of Customized Composition Notebooks on Zazzle.

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AI chatbots are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and can now hold conversations about even the most complex topics.

It’s no surprise that every industry, including publishing, investigates how to benefit from AI, while keeping an eye on possible threats, naming only the case of training large language models (LLMs) on pirated books.

Imagine that you host a private book club meeting, where you can discuss the book you are currently reading – any time, anywhere. And the other book club member is a chatbot trained to talk about nothing else than this particular book.

It may happen sooner than you think.

YouAI is a startup that offers tools for building custom AI-powered apps. They have just added a new app to their growing collection of ready to use tools.

Called Book AI, this template “will let you turn any book into an AI”. All you need to do is upload your book’s content as a data source.

Will Knight, a senior writer for WIRED, uploaded Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to Book AI app to test it.

The Franken-bot did a decent job summarizing the book and its themes.

The chatbot also noticed some interesting similarities between the classic story of scientific hubris and the current concerns about artificial intelligence.

Once the chatbot content is ready (and every publisher or author can already do it, using tools like Book AI), the remaining task would be to include the chat seamlessly into the book.

Some companies, naming only Solution Tree, already plan to offer AI conversational companions to go with their new titles.

It would require the redesign of book reading apps to include the option to start the chatbot in one or two taps. And, ideally, this chatbot should be able to speak and recognize the voice.

Actually, the Kindle ecosystem offers two features that make it easy to imagine the chat companion coming to the Kindle even in the upcoming months.

One is Whispersync for Voice. It lets you seamlessly switch between reading your Kindle ebook and listening to its audiobook companion. Text and sound go hand in hand, and this has been doable since 2012. Already, over 60,000 Kindle books come with audiobook companions.

The other feature that makes ebooks one step closer to book chat companions is Kindle X-Ray. It provides readers with further details about the characters, places, and themes in the book they are reading.

And the best part is that Amazon doesn’t need to produce chatbot companions themselves. All they can do is provide a reliable tool for KDP self publishers, just like they do it with X-Ray. 

Having in mind how easy the process is with YouAI’s chatbot generator, it shouldn’t be the hard task to accomplish.

If you were given an opportunity to buy an ebook with a chatbot companion for an extra $3, would you test it?

Source: Why Read Books When You Can Use Chatbots to Talk to Them Instead? – Wired / Cover image: Midjourney

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Amazon’s second Prime Day event this year will take place on October 10 and 11. More are more deals are being added to Prime Big Deal Days 2023.

Interestingly, the deals featured on Prime Big Deal Days, are available for all Amazon customers, not only Prime subscribers – and they are the same as the ones listed on the main Amazon Device Deals page.

For instance, you can save up to 70% on Echo Show devices and smart home bundles. If you plan to buy a Fire tablet, the good news is that all models come with slashed prices right now, and you can save up to 50%.

Kindle e-readers are also on sale, and non-Prime Amazon customers are also eligible. 

There is only one model you can save on right now, and – quite surprisingly – it’s the top-shelf Kindle Scribe.

Four variants are offered. The entry-level Scribe with 16 GB of internal storage and the Basic Pen costs today $265 instead of $340, which means you save 22% ($75).

For reference, the same variant of Kindle Scribe was offered during the summer Prime Day 2023 for $255. Prime subscribers can expect the same price during the upcoming Prime Day.

Amazon doesn’t reveal when the deal will end, but you can be sure it will be gone by October 10, the first day of the autumn 2023 Prime Day event.

I predict the price of the basic variant of Kindle Scribe to go down to $249 this Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

P.S. Deals on refurbished Kindle Scribe models are now gone.

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A refurbished Kindle is the one that has been returned by a customer and tested by Amazon for functionality and defects.

The software is updated by Amazon to the latest available version, and the device comes with the same limited warranty as a new device.

If you accept the refurbished status of the device, you can save a significant amount of money – as soon as you know such a device is available.

The best destination to shop for refurbished Kindle e-readers and Fire tablets is the home page of Amazon Device Deals, where are currently discounted new and refurbished models appear.

Currently, Amazon is offering a deal on refurbished Kindle Scribe models. A deal on refurbished devices? Don’t refurbished devices are a deal already?

Yes, they are always cheaper than the new ones, but even they are subject to price cuts – what’s happening right now.

For instance, the Kindle Scribe with the most affordable configuration (16 GB plus Basic Pen), in the “like-new” condition, costs today only $235. On the product page, you will read that its list price is $285 – but it’s the list price of the refurbished model. The new one costs $340.

In other words, you don’t save $50 but $105, if you compare the like-new model to the new one.

There is also the refurbished Kindle Scribe with 64 GB and Premium Pen, which costs $280 instead of $420, which means you save $140.

Is it better to buy the refurbished Kindle Scribe now or wait for the autumn edition of Prime Day 2023?

Having in mind that Kindle Scribe (16 GB with the Basic Pen) was $255 during Prime Day Summer Edition 2023, you can’t expect the much lower price this year for a new device.

The deal on the refurbished Kindle Scribe will let you save $20 more right now.

The only disadvantage is the unboxing moment that won’t raise your adrenaline level. Refurbished Amazon devices are being shipped in generic Amazon-branded boxes.

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Amazon is right now sending out emails to Kindle users informing about two major improvements made to the Send to Kindle feature.

These changes apply to documents that are being added to your Kindle library through the Kindle e-reader or the app for iOS, Android, and Mac.

Improvements to pdf files

First of all, from now on, if you import a pdf file with the “Keep original layout” option enabled, the imported document will support text selection, search, and hyperlinks.

You will be able to highlight the text, as well as make text notes. Smart Lookup feature will also work in this document.

Improvements to epub, html, txt, and rtf files

Do you want to add to your Kindle library a file in epub, htm, html, txt or rft file format, or a doc, docx or pdf with “Make layout adjustable” enabled?

The new feature will let you benefit from Page Flip on your Kindle or in a Kindle app. Page turn animation is now also supported, as well as some Enhanced Typesetting features.

Page Flip is an advanced Kindle book navigation feature that makes it easy to explore books without loosing your latest read position.

Send to Kindle is Amazon’s free tool that allows you to send documents to your Kindle library on your Kindle e-reader, Fire tablet, or Kindle app. 

You can upload documents through the web, an authorized email address, the Kindle app for iOS and Android devices, or a Send to Kindle application (if available). 

It’s worth highlighting that all documents sent through Send to Kindle are protected with end-to-end encryption.

Note: Just a reminder that since the beginning of 2023 you can’t add mobi files to your Kindle. Epub is now the file format that’s accepted by Amazon.

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If you are hunting for a reasonable Kindle Scribe deal, you know that it’s not easy to spot the one that’s worth grabbing.

Unless you start thinking about the Kindle Scribe based bundle.

Usually, Kindle bundles are cheaper by more than 10% than the sum of their parts. But sometimes, these bundles go on sale, as well.

And this is the big time for Kindle Scribe bundles. Out of nowhere, Amazon decided to slash their prices by 25%. There is one condition, though: you have to be an active Prime member.

If you are, you can save between $115 and $130 on every single Kindle Scribe bundle that’s offered on Amazon right now.

The lowest price – $305 – is offered for the bundle that includes:

• Kindle Scribe with 16 GB of storage and a Basic Pen
• Amazon’s original fabric folio in Black, Denim or Rose
• Amazon’s original power adapter

You save $115 on the bundle with these specs, but you can pick up a model with larger internal memory and save even more.

For instance, the Kindle Scribe bundle with the 64 GB on board and premium Pen costs today $370 instead of $500 – just make sure to select a relevant option to see the final deal price for this variant.

Kindle Scribe is Amazon’s most advanced device. It combines the reading experience of a Kindle with the writing capabilities of a notebook. It features a large 10.2-inch display with a stylus that allows you to write and sketch directly on the screen.

What are you going to do with your savings? What about getting a hands-free accessory or a decent Kindle Scribe case cover?

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The company has just announced a series of leather covers that are designed exclusively for the new iPhone 15 models.

Two models have been introduced: The Pocket Book and The Traveler Wallet Case.

The Pocket Book cover from Pad & Quill is crafted with American full-grain leather and is designed to bundle the essentials for the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.

The Pocket Book for iPhone Pro costs $100, but the introductory price is lowered to $85.

The Traveler case is inspired by the classic coin wallet. The company calls is the “world’s first all leather case for iPhone 15”. It comes with a built-in stand and wallet for stand-by mode. Its introductory price is $85 instead of the regular $100.

How does iPhone 15 stack up against earlier models? It sports the Dynamic Island feature, A16 Bionic chip, 2x zoom, and USB-C post.

It’s worth mentioning that iPhone 15 comes with the brightest display (1,000 nits of typical brightness, compared to 800 in iPhone 13 and 14).

If you are looking for bookish cases for your iPhone, make sure to check out our dedicated list.

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Are you wondering when the Kindle Scribe will get a price cut that’s deep enough to justify the purchase of this top-shelf device?

Get ready for July 11, 2023. During the main Prime Day 2023 event, Amazon will offer the deal on the Scribe. The company has just confirmed it in the newest press release.

Here is the section informing about upcoming deals on Amazon devices:

Save up to 75% on select Amazon devices, including the Invite-only deal on 43” Fire TV Omni Series, Fire TV Stick (3rd Gen), Echo Show 8 (2nd Gen), Ring Indoor Cam (2nd Gen), and Ring Battery Doorbell Plus, Pioneer and TCL smart TVs with Fire TV built in, Kindle Scribe, and the all-new Fire Max 11 tablet.

What Kindle Scribe deal can we expect on Prime Day 2023? I expect the deal price to be no higher than $289.99 for the entry-level variant, with 16 GB of storage and the Basic Pen.

Such a deal was offered in March 2023, as a part of National Reading Month celebrations. In this case, your savings will reach 15% ($40), as the regular price of this variant is set at $339.99.

The $40 you keep in your pocket is enough to get a decent Kindle Scribe case, and it that case comes from a third-party producer, you will still have some money left to spend on cool e-reader accessories.

The Kindle Scribe is designed not only for reading, but also writing. The killer feature is handwriting support. You can choose from two compatible pens – Basic or Premium – that come free with a chosen variant. It also comes with several templates for handwritten notes.

The device sports the 10.2-inch glare-free 300 ppi touchscreen display with front and warm light, asymmetric glass front, and a USB-C port. 

Which Amazon device are you going to grab this Prime Day? You can see all currently active Amazon device deals in this handy listing.

Here is the Kindle Scribe product page on Amazon. Bookmark this page in your browser and come back on July 11, 2023, to see how much you can save.

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