I’ve witnessed this personally, having at least one person a week ask me about my Kindle on the train. Generally it’s a person considering purchasing a Kindle or other e-reader. Every once in a while it’s a fellow Kindle owner asking me about the cover I have (the Tuff-Luv Leather Kindle Cover with Stand). But it’s definitely more people than ever stopped me to ask about the paper book I was reading.

One contributor to the article believes the opposite. She says, “I think the Kindle sends the imperative ‘I’m busy, please don’t disturb me’ message when you are traveling on a plane or eating in a restaurant or relaxing at a resort” but she doesn’t compare that to the message a book might convey in the same situation.

What do you think? Does a paper book present more of a barrier to communication than an e-reader? Are e-reader-toting people more approachable because of the device? As an avid reader (paper or e-books), how do you feel about being approached by strangers that ask about your book or e-reading device?

While the debate rages on, it seems most people have either figured out that they want a do-it-all device like the iPad, or they want a dedicated device like the Kindle, or that they want and can afford both. As a personal hero of mine (I’m pretty sure Halvorson’s 2009 An Event Apart presentation encouraged the creation of the role I was recently promoted into in my day job. Plus, the woman knows her stuff.), I’m kind of glad she went the way of the Kindle. It’s a special feeling to be reading on the Kindle and know that, should you go to the homepage, there’s only more reading to be done – no Plants vs. Zombies or internet browsing or Netflix-watching. I like that a fellow content creator appreciates the focus on content that the Kindle allows.

For more info on Kristina Halvorson, check out BrainTraffic.com or follow her on Twitter. And of course, her book Content Strategy for the Web is available on Kindle.

In addition to shipping the new Kindles early, Amazon also announced that they’ve sold more next-gen Kindles than any other product on their site, making it Amazon’s best selling item for the last year.

If you pre-ordered your new Kindle expect to see it tomorrow or Friday, as they’ve been shipped either overnight (for Amazon Prime subscribers) or two-day (for non-Prime subscribers.)  We weren’t lucky enough to get in on the first batch of Kindles, so we won’t have our write-up done for another week.  Did you get a new Kindle? Are you excited for it?

Lifehacker ran a series last year featuring the laptop bags of their editors and writers, showing the readers exactly what they carry around and why. Gina’s featured the usual geek necessities – backup hard drive, Android phone, and “analog notebook” (what the geeks call good ol’ paper and pen) – but also had the first generation Kindle. Gina says,

Packing more than one book or magazine leads to backaches and an overstuffed bag that won’t fit under the airplane seat in front of me, but I can take dozens of books and newspapers with me on my Kindle. While it sucks that you have to wait till you’re at a cruising altitude to start reading, I’ve been reading more books than ever since I got the first version of Amazon’s ebook reader.

Source: Lifehacker Laptop Bags: Gina Trapani Edition

The Kindle is a staple in my own laptop bag, and even my purse when I leave the house on weekends. You never know when you’ll get stuck in a long line at the Container Store or need something other than a three-month old People magazine while waiting for a haircut.

Any Kindle owners out there have a least favorite author screensaver? How about a favorite screensaver? I like the one with the birds in the tree, personally.

I used to keep a lamp next to the bed so I could read at night, which bothered me because it felt like I was wasting electricity just to read in bed, and it made me stay awake longer because it so was bright.  I’d never used a Kindle light before the Solis, but I have to say that this is a perfect accompaniment to any Kindle.

Octovo markets is as a “Kindle 2 light“, but it fits just find on my graphite DX as well.    It worked just fine on my DX, however it could have been a tiny bit brighter. While the very bottom few lines were illuminated, they could have been a bit brighter.  I’m sure on the 6″ Kindle this would be a non issue because the screen’s so much smaller.  It’s still usable on the DX, that’s for sure, and I’m really glad I have this light now.

The Solis comes with 2 AA batteries, which have lasted the entire month without dying.  If I had to guess, I’d say I use the light about half an hour every night during the week.  So that’s roughly 10 hours worth of usage on the same AA batteries.  They’re not rechargeable, but I don’t knock Octovo any points for that.

If you’re looking for a light for your Kindle, or your Kindle DX, the Octovo is a great accessory, and one I’d highly recommend. You can find all of Octovo’s products through Amazon, including the Octovo Solis, which has a 4.5 star rating from Amazon’s customers.

The cover holds the Kindle using the hinge system that the original Amazon Kindle cover used and is made of real leather. There are no pockets for notes or papers like there are with some other cases, but the built-in booklight is sure to please the many people begging Amazon for a backlight.

Since the item is only available for pre-order right now, we haven’t had a chance to review it. However, if it’s made with the same quality as the original Amazon cover and the booklight doesn’t add too much weight to the case, it should be a great choice for your new Kindle.

Amazon offers this cover in seven colors – black, burnt orange, chocolate brown, hot pink, steel blue, apple green, and burgandy red – for $59.99. If you don’t want the built-in booklight or you’re looking for a cheaper option, Amazon offers the same colors in a cover without the booklight for $34.99.

Click here to pre-order the lighted cover for $59.99 or click here to pre-order the non-lighted cover for $34.99. Both will be released on August 27th and are compatible with the latest generation of the 6″ Kindle.

Amazon is holding a contest for a new Kindle commercial – and the prize is $15,000 worth of Amazon Gift Cards.

• Between 8/1 and 9/3: You’ll submit a 30-second video of what you would want to see in an Amazon Kindle commercial.
• Between 9/04 and 9/19: Our judging panel will select five finalists, including the Grand Prize winner and up to four Semi-Finalists.
• On 9/20: We’ll announce the winner of the Grand Prize who will receive a $15,000 Amazon.com Gift Card*, and the winners of the Semi-Finalist Prizes, who will each receive a $2,500 Amazon.com Gift Card.

All the details can be found on Amazon’s site.

Are you going to film a commercial?  Write about it in the comments.

CNN asks, “why can’t you give someone a Kindle book as a gift?” in a recent article. They point out, as I do above, that the closest Amazon has to gifting a Kindle book is Amazon gift certificates with Kindle branding. In this instance, if you wanted to purchase a particular book for a friend, you’d have to give them the gift certificate and tell them which book to buy, which CNN rightfully points out is “awkward, convoluted, and a bit obnoxious. That process feels less like a gift and more like a command.”

I think I’ve found the reason for Amazon – and other e-book stores like Barnes & Noble’s nook store – to disallow specific Kindle books from being given as gifts: the difficulty in solidifying a digital return policy. As it is, if you download a Kindle book by mistake, you have a short period of time to click the “oops” link to get your refund and have the book removed from your device. What if a friend gave you a Kindle book you already owned? How would you return it and get something else. What if a well-meaning family member gave you a book they loved but you have no interest in reading? With a physical book, you can walk into Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc. or mail it back to Amazon and it’s clear you haven’t read the book yet and should get a refund. Drawing the lines for a digital book return policy is probably too much of a minefield for Amazon to want to worry about. After all, who doesn’t like getting gift certificates? Why fix a system that isn’t really broken?

Have you had problems with wanting to give a Kindle book as a gift? Do you think Amazon should allow this? Personally, I prefer buying Kindle-branded Amazon gift certificates for my Kindle-owning friends and family. I know they’ll pick out something they want to read.

Without further delay, here’s the new commercial for Amazon’s newest Kindle (I apologize for the poor quality, but I’m new to video editing):