Gnod’s literature section, Gnooks, includes a free service it calls a Literature Map: simply type in the name of an author who interests you, and Gnod will stop running human extinction scenarios long enough to return a nifty floating cloud of names. The closer two names are to each other, the more similar the authors are, and their proximity to your initial author indicates how closely they match his or her style.

Above is my test for sci-fi author Charles Stross. In my experience, Doctorow’s voice is nothing like Stross’, but I’m not a computer so I’m probably wrong.

Here’s one for Cynthia Ozick, who you may have noticed by now is one of my go-to names when I want to test something with a semi-obscure but highly respected living author:

And here’s another one for Charlie Huston:

Okay, so they’re not going to win any awards for visual design, but robots don’t need eyes. None of us will after the singularity, but that’s a downer of a note to end this post on, so let me close with the word “balloons.”

Update: If you want a more intimate recommendation—meaning just one author’s name instead of a cloud—you can try Gnod’s Suggestions page, where you enter the names of three authors and (hopefully) get back a fourth.

I finally got to test drive a Nook Touch yesterday, right after sitting in a coffee shop reading my Kindle 3 for an hour, and I have to admit I was instantly in love; I wanted to leave my Kindle 3 behind at Barnes & Noble and bring home a Nook Touch instead. Even anchored by a security cable, it felt lighter and easier to hold while reading.

But that was only a brief infatuation, and this morning I’m glad my Kindle is still with me. Because as much as I loved playing with the Nook Touch, I’m not willing to come on board until Barnes & Noble fine-tunes some issues with the device and its customer service.

Two notes before I begin:

• These won’t be dealbreakers for every consumer, but they’re real issues that you should be aware of.
• If you’re savvy with computers and/or consumer technology, the Nook Touch can be rooted and you can do all sorts of fun things with it, so some of the limitations below won’t apply to you.

1. There’s no way to email yourself documents or web pages

If you want to sideload personal documents or ebooks, you have to do it via USB cable while the Nook Touch is tethered to your PC, or load it onto a memory card and insert that into the Nook Touch.

By comparison, every Kindle is assigned an email address upon purchase, and you can email various documents to it from anywhere. Lots of third party developers have taken advantage of this to provide easy ways to send your Kindle web content, including Readability (my new favorite), Instapaper and Read It Later. You can also set up Calibre, the free ebook library manager, to email RSS feeds or ebooks to your Kindle.
 

2. The browser is hidden and may not be as functional as the Kindle browser

Although Amazon has always called it an “experimental” feature, every Kindle model so far has come with a web browser that you can access directly. The Kindle 3′s browser is in fact fairly advanced and does a great job at HTML rendering.

You can access the browser from a Nook Touch, but not in an obvious way—there’s no menu option, so instead you type a URL in the search field. (The Kindle 3 offers this shortcut as well, but it’s in addition to the menu option. Amazon also advertises the web browser as a feature, whereas B&N makes no mention of a web browser at all in its Nook Touch marketing.)

I’m pretty sure the Nook Touch demo unit I played with was set up to kick me out of the browser after a short period, but I was never able to get beyond a Google search page using the search field shortcut. On Google, I could then search for another page, but inevitably the browser would quit and I’d be redirected to the Nook’s home page.
 

3. Activating the Nook Touch is a pain

Teleread has published a detailed review of the Nook Touch by a blogger named John Schember, and while it’s mostly positive, his description of the mandatory First Run Wizard shows just how far B&N still has to go before mastering the “it just works” design philosophy.

First, John says, you have to be online so the Nook Touch can be activated by B&N’s servers. If you can’t get online at home, you have to go to a B&N store or somewhere with free public Wi-Fi. By contrast, Kindles bought from Amazon ship pre-registered, and in fact you can still use your Kindle to read ebooks even if you never register it or activate the wireless connection.

Next, you have to agree to a 178 page Terms of Service document. Most of the legalese is for the B&N account that you will use with the device, but it’s still an unsettling experience to pay for a device outright and suddenly be forced to agree to a lengthy list of things you can and can’t do on it. As John writes, “It’s my reader, I bought it, I’m not renting it from B&N, they should not be dictating anything to me about the use of my property!”

And finally, you have to have a B&N account. John sums up the problem with this pretty clearly:

Again I do not want my Nook connecting to the internet. I do not want to download books using the Nook. I do not want to register it with my B&N account. I do not use the connectivity features nor do I want them. The Nook does not make this an option. You must sign into a B&N account which registers the device with B&N before you can use the device.

Certainly most people will expect and want the Nook to be able to easily connect to B&N, but if you’re not one of them, you’re out of luck.
 

4. Barnes & Noble uses the home screen for advertising

One result of the forced registration, notes John in his review, is that B&N loads samples onto your Nook at the end. You can archive them so they’re removed from your Nook, but again, by comparison Amazon treats your Kindle as your Kindle and doesn’t put any ebook on it without your permission.

Worse than that, in my opinion, is B&N reserves nearly 50% of the home page to market new books to you in the context of “expert suggestions.” B&N doesn’t make it clear how this section will work—in some shots it looks like your friends’ recommendations will appear there (assuming you have extroverted friends with Nooks), and in other shots it looks like the company will suggest titles. Either way, it’s outside content that’s intended to get you to buy more books.

Amazon does include advertising on special discounted Kindles, but the difference is you have to essentially opt-in (by choosing the “special offers” model), and Amazon compensates you with a $25 price cut. If you just want to compare where book recommendations appear, on the Kindle they show up when you visit the store on your device. Otherwise you don’t see them.

It’s true that at least Nook’s ads are for books, not (as with Amazon) credit cards or special sales. Still, this means that every time you activate your Nook to start reading, you’ll be hit with the E Ink equivalent of in-store advertising from Barnes & Noble.
 

5. Barnes & Noble customer service is awful

Amazon offers a refund policy for Kindle purchases. Barnes & Noble does not. To me, that alone is enough of a differentiator to make me want to shop from Amazon, but it won’t sway everyone.

Here are a couple of more subjective examples that I think illustrate how crummy B&N is with customer service:

First, in John’s review, he mentions that by default B&N sometimes pushes his Nook files to him in PDB format. PDB files work on the first Nook but not on the Nook Touch. When John called customer service to find out what he could do, he was told he simply couldn’t read those books on his Nook! After some online searching, John found that he was only receiving PDB files because he was using a Mac, and in Safari you can fake a different browser’s identity (e.g. Firefox or IE) and receive the EPUB format instead.

The point is, B&N’s own customer service was useless, and in fact essentially told John he couldn’t read the Nook ebooks he’d paid for, without offering a solution. John writes:

B&N support is terrible and will often make you more confused than help you. I am not confident in B&N support and there is quite a bit of miscommunication throughout the company.

Second, my own recent personal experience with B&N’s customer service was hands down the worst I’ve had with any company in at least five years. I’d purchased a Groupon offer and gave the code to my sister, who then applied it along with two gift cards to a big order of books for her sons. Everything we did was within the rules of both Groupon’s and B&N’s fine print (believe me, I quadruple-checked), but B&N’s overzealous fraud department flagged her order and canceled it without explaining why. The easiest thing would have been to walk away and buy the books elsewhere, but we now had two gift card balances and a Groupon purchase invalidated, so we were forced to deal with it. It took—no kidding—ten business days and over twenty phone calls, along with at least three order reversals from active to canceled to active again, before B&N sent the books. And then they left out two of the titles. Their fraud department still thinks my sister is some low-rent con artist, I think.

Although that concerned physical books and not the Nook, it soured me on B&N for a long time, especially since the problem wasn’t with physical inventory but with payment types (meaning it overlaps the Nook space). I’m not surprised at all to see that John couldn’t get any useful information about the format problem when he called.

For my needs, the first issue—not being able to email myself content—is a huge problem. I use my Kindle as an extension of my desktop, shooting web pages and articles over to it so I can read them later when I’m not at my desk, and I like the fact that I can email ebooks to it from Calibre.

I’m guessing the online/registration issues are less bothersome for most consumers. After all, the Nook is designed to work with the cloud, and to do that it has to be online and registered.

I think customer service is a big deal, though. My personal experience with B&N is an extreme case, but I also hate the lack of a refund policy, and as John discovered you may not be able to trust B&N with even basic technical support if a problem arises.

There are plenty of well-documented reasons to buy a Nook Touch, so I’m not saying it’s a bad choice. Just make sure you know what you’re getting into before you commit to it.

“Comedy Writing Secrets” by Mel Helitzer

Summary:

There are lots of simple things you can do to make your jokes funnier — wag your eyebrows, play a slide whistle, add your own spit take — but if you want a more academic approach to humor, who am I to stop you? Here you go.

Read the first chapter right now:

Click here to view the Amazon page.

Please note that prices may have changed since posting. Always check the current price on Amazon before making a purchase.

Shopping

• Don’t feel compelled to grab every free book offer just because it’s free. At the same time, don’t hesitate on free offers that interest you, because a lot of deals are time-sensitive.
• Pressing Alt+Home will take you straight to the Kindle store on your device.
• Take advantage of samples to help curb your impulse buys.
• Use eReaderIQ.com to keep an eye on expensive Kindle titles, so you can be alerted if the price drops.
• If you share your Kindle account with others, or if you like to maintain a gift card balance just for books, consider setting up a second account on Amazon that’s reserved solely for the Kindle.

The Device

• Learn which Kindle model you own, so you can troubleshoot it or look for accessories for it without confusion. Here’s a chart to help you out.
• If you only occasionally deal with damp places when reading your Kindle, try a Ziploc-style plastic bag that seals. However, don’t rely on it for higher-risk areas like pools or boats–invest in a waterproof case or bag.
• Instead of turning it off, put your Kindle in sleep mode when you’re not reading it, by sliding and releasing the power button. Only turn off your Kindle completely (by holding the power switch for 5-7 seconds) if you’re not going to use it for a week or more.
• To save battery life, turn off the wireless function if you don’t need it. You can turn this on/off under the main menu.
• Download Calibre and use it on your PC the way you would use iTunes–that is, to organize all of your ebooks. It won’t let you open DRM-locked Kindle books from the Amazon store, but it will let you add meta data, change titles, and collect your Kindle purchases with the rest of your growing ebook collection.
• A padded 6″x9″ mailing envelope will work as a super cheap Kindle sleeve.

Troubleshooting

• Download to your PC a backup copy of your Kindle user guide. (All guides are located at http://www.amazon.com/kindledocuments.) This will make it easy for you to look up info even if you don’t have your Kindle in front of you.
• Also, read the user guide that’s pre-loaded on your Kindle. Seriously, it will make your life a lot easier, and it’s not dense or too technical.
• If you bought one of the new non-lighted Amazon Kindle covers and your Kindle does weird things (losing places in books, rebooting, not maintaining a charge), contact Amazon about replacing the cover. This is a recently identified issue with some of the unlighted covers, although it hasn’t yet been formally confirmed by Amazon.

Finally, subscribe via RSS to this blog or others like it for regular tips and news. It’s an easy way to stay up to date on what’s going on with the Kindle marketplace.

(Photo: kisocci)

Summary:

“A complete guide designed to coach you every step along the path from beginning writer to royalty-earning author. Here are some things you’ll learn: strategic planning, writing powerful fiction, self-editing, and finding an agent.”

It may or may not be of much use in a post-Kindle world, but hey, it’s free.

Read the first chapter right now:

Click here to view the Amazon page.

Please note that prices may have changed since posting. Always check the current price on Amazon before making a purchase.

Summary:

Some people are simply great at their job. They always seem to say the right thing; do the right thing. They are mentioned in every conversation. Everybody likes them. They get promoted. They get pay rises. They get along with the boss. And somehow, they do all these things without being unpleasant, breaking much of a sweat or seeming to put in excess effort. And when they are offered another step up the corporate ladder or a fabulous new job, no one is surprised. After all, they have ‘potential’ written all over them.

How do they do it? Do they know some secret we don’t? Yes, they know The Rules of Work. These rules aren’t about how to do your job, day-to-day (assuming you are pretty good at that already). The Rules of Work are about how you are seen to be doing it. They are about how you appear to others. And they are about helping you to achieve the success you richly deserve.

The first edition of The Rules of Work became a global phenomenon, topping bestseller charts around the world. This new, even better, edition includes 10 brand new rules to take you further, faster. These rules are the guiding principles that will improve both what you do and how you do it, giving you the unmistakable air of confidence that will win you admiration, respect, and the next promotion. With The Rules under your belt you’ll have the edge in everything you do, without having to compromise your principles.

Read the first chapter right now:

Click here to view the Amazon page.

Please note that prices may have changed since posting. Always check the current price on Amazon before making a purchase.

Summary:

Trent Hamm found himself drowning in consumer debt, working in a job he couldn’t stand… and figured out how to escape that debt and build the fulfilling career he’d always dreamt about, all at the same time.

Hamm shared his experiences at TheSimpleDollar.com—and built it into one of America’s top personal finance websites. Now, The Simple Dollar is a book: packed with practical tips, tools, and lessons you can use to transform your life, too.

This isn’t just “another” personal finance book: it’s profoundly motivating, empowering, practical, and 100% grounded in today’s American realities. Trent Hamm will show you how to rewrite the rules, creating healthier relationships with money… and with your loved ones, too. With his help, you can get out of debt, start moving forward, and build the strong personal community that offers true happiness–no matter what happens to the economy.

Read the first chapter right now:

Click here to view the Amazon page.

Please note that prices may have changed since posting. Always check the current price on Amazon before making a purchase.

Summary:

It’s tough, but true—the people you’re trying to communicate with, sell to, or convince don’t really care about you. Nor do they care what you’re offering them, until they understand exactly how it’ll benefit them. If you recognize that one hard, cold fact—and you know what to do about it—you’ll make more money, achieve greater success, and even have more fun!

In this book, world-renowned sales consultant Mark Magnacca shows you how to answer the “So What?” question brilliantly, every time—no matter who’s asking it or what you’re trying to achieve. This book will transform the way you communicate: You’ll use it every day to get what you want—in business and in life!

Click here to view the Amazon page.

“The 1-2-3 Money Plan” by Gregory Karp

Price: $0.00

Summary:

Today, frugal is the name of the game. But you don’t have to take a vow of poverty: You just have to be smarter about how you spend, save, and invest. Sound hard? Not anymore. In The 1-2-3 Money Plan, top personal finance columnist Greg Karp offers 100% practical, 100% specific financial advice everyone can use…organized into simple three-step plans that tell you exactly what to do and how and where to do it! Discover how to save money by putting your bills on autopilot…which specific brand names to buy in everything from index funds to cellphones…how to improve your credit rating…how to get the right insurance, without wasting money on unnecessary coverage…easier ways to save for college and plan for retirement…and a whole lot more. Finally: simple, reliable financial advice you can act on, from an award-winning expert you can trust!

As of late summer 2010, the ebook device “war” has more or less come down to four choices–Kindle, nook, Kobo and Sony Reader–and the company behind each has worked hard to differentiate its product.

Nook split into two versions so it could offer a cheaper Wi-Fi only model. Kindle quickly followed suit. As for Kobo, this week’s rumor is that it will release a $99 device by Christmas, but the rumor is literally just party gossip for now. And Sony just announced updated Readers with better touch-screen technology.

There are more expensive options if you want to go for a multi-purpose device (iPad, Dell Streak, perhaps upcoming Android tablets), but if you’re trying to spend as little as possible to acquire a high quality single-function ereader device that’s linked to a big ebook store, those four are the serious contenders.

So which one is the best?

Over at The Reading Edge, Len Edgerly decided to compare the same book across all four devices to see how they stacked up. If you’re planning on buying an ereader this fall, you’ll find the video immensely useful as a source of hands-on demonstrations, which is something that’s more or less impossible in real world shopping scenarios.

The video (embedded below) is nearly half an hour long, so I’ve also summarized the key points.

Here’s the summary.

Round 1: Sony Reader vs. Kobo

Kobo has better screen size, and feels better in the hand. Sony Reader feels more computerish but accesses books faster. Winner: Kobo.

Round 2: Kobo vs. nook vs. Kindle

“If all you want to do is read a book, the Kobo works great.” If you like to highlight, take notes, or look up words, the Kobo is not good. Winners: nook and Kindle.

Round 3: nook vs. Kindle

Screens are too similar to call. Nook’s touchscreen interface is fancier than Kindle’s plastic keyboard, but it can require multiple presses before registering a tap, and doesn’t always provide a smooth user experience. Kindle is lighter than either nook model, and the upcoming Kindle 3 is even lighter.

Edgerly then compared the two devices across 5 different tasks:

So there you have it–at least as far as Edgerly is concerned, the Kindle bests nook in several usability categories, and both the Kindle and nook are better choices than Kobo or the Sony Reader. Interestingly, a couple of months ago Consumer Reports also gave the edge to Kindle in their ereader comparison.

“TRE 30 The Wolf Hall Tournament of E-Readers” [The Reading Edge Podcast]

RELATED
“Kindle still on top in latest Consumer Reports tests”

(Photo: claudiogennari)