Light My Kindle

Breaking news! Thanks to the Oprah-induced discount on the Kindle, the Kindle is currently sold out for the first time in months.

Another Kindle-related blog broke the news earlier today. This is huge news for Amazon, and a bigger response than I ever imagined Oprah could cause with her support of the Kindle as her favorite gadget.

At this point it looks like Kindles are shipping in 2-3 weeks, so you might want to order one now if you’re planning on giving one as a Christmas gift.

The Amazon Kindle, Books and Amazon News Blog picked up a great story about how Oprah Winfrey loves the Kindle. This is huge news for Amazon, since Oprah’s followers tend to rely heavily on her recommendations. After all, that’s why the books chosen for Oprah’s Book Club sell so well, and why her Oprah’s Favorite Things List makes news every year.

It will definitely be interesting to see what this does to the Kindle’s mainstream sales. Oprah is scheduled to talk about the Kindle as her favorite gadget on tomorrow’s show. I’m especially looking forward to seeing what this means for the Living Oprah project (which, if you haven’t heard about it, is fascinating).

Engadget caught a screenshot of a recent Verizon commercial with a special guest star - a Kindle! The commercial is an obvious ripoff of the “I’m a Mac/I’m a PC” commercials starring Justin Long, with the contrast being the “supercool” Verizon guy and the “lame” cable guy. The Verizon guy, for reasons unknown, is carrying a Kindle. Check out a piece of the screenshot below, and go to Engadget for the full video.

CNBC reports that billionaire investor Warren Buffett is thinking about buying a Kindle. The article says, “he was so blown away by Jeff Bezos’ presentation of the Kindle, the self-professed luddite now says he may even get one.”

If the Kindle can attract a 77-year-old who’s not so keen on technology, it can surely reach a decent customer base of semi-technology-savvy readers.

Ok, I’ll be honest - I’d never heard of him either. However, he’s the online editor of The Onion, and that deserves some respect.

He was spotted on the subway and spoke with Silicon Alley Insider about how much he loves his Kindle.

Craigslist.org founder Craig Newmark has a Kindle, and really enjoys it. In a recent interview with The Seattle Times, the interviewer asks some interesting questions about Craig’s Kindle:

Q: I hear you have an Amazon Kindle.
A: I do have a Kindle, I like it a lot. It does have flaws, but it is a good device and I’m on my 23rd book and I have several more lined up. On a trip, typically I’ll have at least three books and on a long trip probably four; now I just have a Kindle. My life is a little easier.
Q: That’s interesting, because one thing about Kindle is the digital rights attached to the Kindle version of books. Unlike a physical copy, when you’re done, you can’t give the books to a friend or sell them on Craigslist.
A: I am painfully aware of the plight, particularly of independent bookstores, and I want to help and I don’t know what to do about it. I could use some advice from Jeff Bezos, because I know he’s concerned.
Q: Have you talked to him much?
A: I met him a year ago, that’s it. I like his hair.

The interviewer brings up one of the very few things I think is a drawback for the Kindle - not being able to resell a book after reading it. I’m used to passing books on to family members and friends, selling them (on Amazon, of course), or trading them on PaperBackSwap.com. With the Kindle, however, you have a digital copy and it’s attached to your specific Kindle. I’ve gotten around this so far by purchasing Kindle books that I think I’ll read again at some point.

You can click here to read the full interview, which discusses politics, Wal-Mart’s classified ads that compete with Craigslist, and the future of Craigslist.

TechCrunch reports that “Friends” star Jennifer Aniston has a Kindle. She was spotted in a paparazzi shot in US Weekly hanging out by the pool with her Kindle and her boyfriend-of-the-month.

What do you think the former Rachel Green is reading? Charles Dickens? Something from Oprah’s book club?

Go check out TechCrunch for the photo.