After Game of Thrones, I would suggest they adapt…

After Game of Thrones, I would suggest they adapt…

I have just barely started watching Game of Thrones on HBO. In fact, I’m not even done with the first episode yet.

I actually started watching the first episode a long time ago when HBO was free for some reason for a weekend…it might have been a preview weekend on Comcast.

I didn’t like it that much back then, but I knew I hadn’t given it a real chance.

Well, we recently got HBO for free as part of DirecTV when they upgraded our phone/internet. We don’t subscribe to DirecTV otherwise.

I’m watching it on our Fire TV and Fire TV Stick (two different rooms):

Fire TV family (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

First, I have to say…either I haven’t figured it out yet, or the DirecTV app is…um…difficult. I’m not seeing where it will tell me which episodes I have already watched, or what I’ve been watching recently. Every time I go to GoT on it, it starts on the current season. Then I have to switch to the first season…and it always offers me the most recent one first. Oh, and when the app first opens, it shows me something live called “Audience”…which could give me spoilers, one of my least favorite things.

Speaking of spoilers, I haven’t been able to totally avoid them on Game of Thrones (who could?), but I don’t know most of it.

I also started reading

the original books (at AmazonSmile*)

and I’ve gotten farther than I have in the TV series, but still not very far.

The eighth season of GoT will be the final season (although there may be spinoffs), so I was thinking about what other fantasy book series might be good to adapt for an HBO type television series…and the first one that came to mind does seem good to me, even on deeper reflection.

Elric of Melnibone by Michael Moorcock

Unfortunately, that book is not available in the USA Kindle store…but I’m still going to write about it. 🙂

For those of you who don’t know, Elric is a tragic but lethal figure. I’ll put up a SPOILER ALERT, although I suspect most people approaching the series will know this much.

Elric has a sword…or perhaps, the sword has Elric. It’s an immensely powerful sword named Stormbringer, but it must kill to feed itself…and the wielder can not prevent it from killing friends to satisfy its hunger.

That’s a very simplified version, but gives you the sense of it.

I think people would very much relate to Elric: he’s really emo. 😉

It’s also a complex series, with a diverse set of characters. There are different races and exotic lands. There is blood and gore drama and political intrigue. There is a broad mythology and yes, there are dragons.

That’s what I’d recommend.

END SPOILER

I’ll make one more suggestion: the New World series by James Kahn, which starts with World Enough, and Time (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*) This is only a trilogy, which is a limitation, but it is a dystopia, and hey, those are still in, right? 😉 It’s set in the future, and classic creatures of mythology have been genetically engineered. There aren’t a whole lot of humans left, and that’s a lot of conflict between different types of sentient beings. Honestly, though, it’s not as edgy as Elric could be done (and still be true enough to the books).

I could make a lot of other suggestions for things I think could be adapted well (when Amazon had a public lists feature, which they no longer do, I had one just for that), but I think Elric is the best of the ones similar to GoT (in scope, in tone, in characters…and it is known and beloved for geeks, but probably not that well-known to the mainstreamers).

I’d be interested to hear your suggestions. If HBO was looking for a series to fill the hole which will be left behind when GoT ends (and not counting possible spinoffs), what would you recommend? I would suggest a series with complexity (it probably needs to be able to run for fifty episodes), and being HBO, with the potential for violence and nudity/sex.

Feel free to let me and my readers know by commenting on this post.

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*When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get. Shop ’til you help! 🙂 

Today’s KDD: “Up to 80% off select best-selling Kindle reads” incl. Murder on the Orient Express, Dune, The Color Purple…

Today’s KDD: “Up to 80% off select best-selling Kindle reads” incl. Murder on the Orient Express, Dune, The Color Purple…

Today’s KDD

Kindle Daily Deal (at AmazonSmile…benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

has some amazing deals! If you were going to poll people for 100 books they’d like to see on sale, my guess is that some of these would be on it.

Note that this deal is for August 6, 2017, Pacific time in the USA. As always, check the price before you click/tap/eye gaze that Buy button…the prices may not apply in your country, and the sale may have ended before you see it.

You can buy the books at these discounted prices and then delay the delivery until the appropriate gift-giving occasion, or print them out to give whenever you want.

Titles include:

• Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (one of the best-selling books of all time, with a new movie coming out soon…it belongs on your “guest shelf”)  $1.99
• Dune by Frank Herbert (a truly significant science fiction classic, spawning a series and adaptations) $2.99
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker (Pulitzer Prize winner: movie nominated for 11 Oscars) $1.99
• Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
• Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies by J.B. West
• The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm
• The Hero and the Crown by Robert McKinley
• Strong Poison (Lord Peter Wimsey #6) by Dorothy L. Sayers
• The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
• We Were Soldiers Once…and Young by Harold G. Moore (popular non-fiction)
• The Adventure of English: The Biography of a Language by Melvyn Bragg
• Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad by William Craig
• The Great Santini by Pat Conroy
• I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison
• Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors (sold a lot of these when I managed a brick-and-mortar bookstore)

Those are just some of them! Other authors in the group include Michael Chabon, Ellis Peters, J.A. Jance, Nicholas Sparks…

Enjoy!

By the way, I’d be curious: are there well-known books that you’ve been waiting to see go on sale? What titles would really impress you in a KDD? Feel free to let me and my readers know by commenting on this post.

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

*When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get. Shop ’til you help! 🙂 

Monthly Kindle Deals up to 80% off: August 2017

Monthly Kindle Deals up to 80% off: August 2017

Amazon does the Kindle Daily Deal (at AmazonSmile…benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*), which used to discount four books a day (often general fiction, a romance, a science fiction/fantasy book, and a kids’ book). Now, it seems like it is generally more books than that, and not categorized…although they have been doing themes this year as well.

They also do Monthly Kindle Book Deals up to 80% off (at AmazonSmile). There used to be about 100 of them, but there are many times that now: 1,324 at the time of writing…216 more than last month.

Those prices only apply to the USA, and one weird thing is that sometimes some of the books seem to sell out at that price (or become unavailable for some other reason).

Another thing is that 293 of them (76 more than last month) are available through

Kindle Unlimited (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

Amazon lists that information prominently…and it’s now commonly a filter in search results. If they are, then you need to consider whether it is worth buying them…even at these low prices. While they are in KU, you can, if you are a subscriber (and there’s a free month available right now), read them at no additional cost. There are, of course, advantages to owning books, especially if you want to re-read them. A book could move out of KU at any time. Even if you think you want to own it, if you are a KU member, you could always read it first to make sure. 😉 I will mark them with KU.

By the way, in the new version of the

eReaderIQ advanced search

you can make KU a filter. So, you can search for books by an author, a keyword, an average customer review which you can read as part of your KU membership…nice! I’m not associated with eReaderIQ except as a user (we have had some correspondence), but I do think it is the most valuable website for Kindleers.

In terms of which ones are

Prime Reading (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

eligible, which is Amazon’s new benefit for Prime members, a rotating list of books you can borrow each month, this month there are 6, which is 3 more (double) than last month. That is notably fewer in KU and PR…I can see an argument that not discounting (as much?) a book which is available to borrow for free makes that look like more of an advantage.

I’m going to list some of the books in this sale that caught my eye…I’m not necessarily recommending them, but I do think they are interesting.

The ones I link (if I actually link to specific books) also don’t block text-to-speech access**…but I think blocking it is becoming rarer.

Okay, books!

• Children of Eden by Joey Graceffa
• DIY Nut Milks, Nut Butters, and More: From Almonds to Walnuts by Melissa King
• Jane Two by Sean Patrick Flanery
• When I Grow Up by Al Yankovic and Wes Hargis
• Here Goes Nothing: An Introvert’s Reckless Attempt to Love Her Neighbor by Kendra Broekhuis
• Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan
• The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe by Theodore Gray and Nick Mann
• Fitter Faster: The Smart Way to Get in Shape in Just Minutes a Day by Robert J. DAVIS and Brad Kolowich
• How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind: Dealing with Your House’s Dirty Little Secrets by Dana K. White
• The Best Seat in Second Grade (I Can Read Level 2) by Katharine Kenah and Abby Carter
• A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex by Chris Jericho and Peter Thomas Fornatale
• All Waiting Is Long by Barbara J. Taylor
• Liked: Whose Approval are You Living For? by Kari Kampakis
• My Life with Earth, Wind & Fire by Maurice White and Herb Powell
• The Hidden Plague by Tara Grant
• Why Kids Make You Fat: …and How to Get Your Body Back by Mark Macdonald
• Leadership as an Identity: The Four Traits of Those Who Wield Lasting Influence by Crawford Loritts
• Blue Hollow Falls (Blue Hollow Falls Series Book 1) by Donna Kauffman
• ReLaunch: How to Stage an Organizational Comeback by Mark Rutland
• American Contempt for Liberty (Hoover Institution Press Publication) by Walter E. Williams
• The Witness by Nora Roberts’A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Vol. 1: The Birth of Britain by Winston S. Churchill (KU_

Remember that you can buy them now as gifts and delay the delivery for the appropriate gift-giving occasion, or print them out and wrap them for whenever you want.

It makes a lot of sense to have so many series starters, but I should also mention that there may be other books in the series in the group…I didn’t list two book in the same series.

If there were others you’d like to mention for me and my readers, please comment on this post.

Prime members, don’t forget to pick up your

Kindle First books (at AmazonSmile*)

You can get one of the six (same as last month) books to own (not borrow) for free…these are books which will be actually released next month. This line was at the bottom of the listings this time (I changed the link): “Please note: Kindle Unlimited (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*) subscribers can borrow these Kindle First books when they are officially released on August 1, 2017″. The choices this month are:

• All the Little Children by Jo Furniss (suspense)
• P.S. from Paris by Marc Levy (translated by Sam Taylor) (romantic comedy)
• When They Come for You by James W. Hall (thriller)
• Song of Edmon (The Fracture Worlds Book 1) by Adam Burch (science fiction)
• The Heart Echoes by Helena von Zweigbergk  (translated by Tiina Nunnally) (contemporary fiction)
• The Judgment of Richard Richter by Igor Štiks, (translated by Ellen Elias-Bursac) (literary fiction)

People like to know which one I pick…I would have picked P.S. from Paris, but although I’ve tried several, my experience with translated books published by Amazon has not been good (usually, the language has been too “stiff”). Hm, that three of them out this time. I’m not saying I’ll never get another translated book published by Amazon, but not this month. 🙂  I don’t think my Significant Other would like any of them…they all sound harsh. I always (eventually) finish a book I start, but I’m reading one now where I had to recommend that my SO not read it (even though we can both read the same book for free with our Kindle account…and I think my SO might have gotten the book). It is quite violent, and it certainly has a dark view of human motivations…for many of the main characters. The “protagonist” is someone for whom I can’t find much sympathy. Given that I’m the only one (at least of the two of us) who is going to read it…I guess I’ll go with All the Little Children.

Enjoy!

===

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get.  Shop ’til you help!  

Snapshot: August 1, 2017

Snapshot: August 1, 2017

Note: thanks to reader feedback, especially from Edward Boyhan, I moved the older data (generally, more than two years old) to a page (Historical Snapshot) rather than a post. However, it appears I have to re-think this again, because apparently, even this version is too big. I’ll reconsider what I’ll do.

Summary:

Two things really stood out to me this time. One was how rapidly the number of titles grew! That’s an impressive uptick, as you can see in the graph. The other is that we had a book on the New York Times fiction hardback bestseller list which did not have a Kindle edition…that’s the first time in three years! I’m hoping that’s just a fluke, and that the Kindle edition does show up soon. The book is Seven Stones to Fall by Diana Gabaldon, and it was released more than a month ago. Oh, and they started doing a full listing for blogs again, which is nice and makes me hopeful. 🙂

Titles in Kindle Store

August 1, 2017: 5,454,920
July 1, 2017: 5,347,117
June 1, 2017: 5,256,676
May 1, 2017: 5,191,246
April 1, 2017: 5,129,972
March 1, 2017: 5,081,365
February 1, 2017: 5,030,914
January 1, 2017: 4,972,110
December 1, 2016: 4,908,904
November 1, 2016: 4,861,264
October 1, 2016: 4,790,218
September 1, 2016: number unavailable (Amazon has changed their search results): Update 4,742,587
August 1, 2016: 4,673,290
July 1, 2016: 4,606,532
June 1, 2016: 4,535,673
May 1, 2016: 4,466,976
April 1, 2016: 4,433,082
March 1, 2016: 4,356,852
February 1, 2016: 4,260,301
January 1, 2016: 4,168,071
December 1, 2015: 4,046,825 (note: as I projected, the USA Kindle store broke 4 million titles)
November 1, 2015: 3,961,896
October 1, 2015: 3,875,694
September 1, 2015: 3,799,009
August 1, 2015: 3,714,509
July 1, 2015: 3,636,269
June 1, 2015: 3,530,378
May 1, 2015: 3,457,009
April 1, 2015: 3,378,436
March 1, 2015: 3,288,124
February 1, 2015: 3,178,962
January 1, 2015: 3,104,677
December 1, 2014: 3,027,234
November 1, 2014: 2,958,430
October 1, 2014: 2,888,225
September 1, 2014: 2,801,221
August 1, 2014: 2,724,012
July 1, 2014: 2,655,727
June 1, 2014: 2,596,747 (2,597,112 for second run)
May 1, 2014: 2,576,453
May 16 2009: 284,491

Approximate average of titles added per day:

August 1, 2017: 3,478
July 1, 2017: 2,917
June 1, 2017: 2,111
May 1, 2017: 2,042
April 1, 2017: 1,568
March 1, 2017: 1,627
February 1, 2017: 1,897
January 1, 2017: 2,039
December 1, 2016: 1,537
November 1, 2016: 2,292
October 1, 2016: 1,536
September 1, 2016: number unavailable (Amazon has changed their search results) Update: 2,235
August 1, 2016: 2,153
July 1, 2016: 2,286
June 1, 2016: 2,216
May 1, 2016: 1,130
April 1, 2016: 2,459
March 1, 2016: 3,329
February 1, 2016: 2,975
January 1, 2016: 3,911
December 1, 2015: 2,831
November 1, 2015: 2,873
October 1, 2015: 2,556
September 1, 2015: 2,726
August 1, 2015: 2,524
July 1, 2015: 3,530
June 1, 2015: 2,446
May 1, 2015: 2,619
April 1, 2015: 3,225
March 1, 2015: 3,899
February 1, 2015: 2,396
January 1, 2015: 2,581
December 1, 2014: 2,293
November 1, 2014: 2,265
October 1, 2014: 2,900
September 1, 2014: 2,491
August 1, 2014: 2,276
July 1, 2014: 1954
June 1, 2014: 655 (2nd run: 689)
May 1, 2014: 2,131

Newsstand: 

August 1, 2017: 2,270 (+12)
July 1, 2017: 2,258 (-31)
June 1, 2017: 2,289 (+40)
May 1, 2017: 2,249 (+79)
April 1, 2017: 2,170 (+160)
March 1, 2017: 2,010 (for March 1, 2017, Amazon combined Magazines & Newspapers into Newsstand) (+120)

February 1st: Magazines=1,732+Newspapers=158 for a total of 1,890

Magazines:

March 1, 2017: combined into Newsstand
February 1, 2017: 1,732 (+354!)
January 1, 2017: 1,378 (+97)
December 1, 2016: 1,281 (+106)
November 1, 2016: 1,175
October 1, 2016: 1,172
September 1, 2016: number unavailable (Amazon has changed their search results) Update: 975
August 1, 2016: 788
July 1, 2016: 758
June 1, 2016: 741
May 1, 2016: 714
April 1, 2016: 711
March 1, 2016: 699
February 1, 2016: 685
January 1, 2016: 684
December 1, 2015: 667
November 1, 2015: 646
October 1, 2015: 632
September 1, 2015: 638
August 1, 2015: 636
July 1, 2015: 632
June 1, 2015: 631
May 1, 2015: 630
April 1, 2015: 643
March 1, 2015: 647
February 1, 2015: 638
January 1, 2015: 638
December 1, 2014: 643
November 1, 2014: 646
October 1, 2014: 652
September 1, 2014: 652
August 1, 2014: 649
July 1, 2014: 650
June 1, 2014: 668
May 1, 2014: 671

Newspapers:

March 1, 2017: combined into Newsstand
February 1, 2017: 158
January 1, 2017: 158
December 1, 2016: 157
November 1, 2016: 158
October 1, 2016: 158
September 1, 2016: 159
August 1, 2016: 160
July 1, 2016: 166
June 1, 2016: 167
May 1, 2016: 168
April 1, 2016: 168
March 1, 2016: 172
February 1, 2016: 172
January 1, 2016: 169
December 1, 2015: 168
November 1, 2015: 168
October 1, 2015: 168
September 1, 2015: 172
August 1, 2015: 173
July 1, 2015: 173
June 1, 2015: 173
May 1, 2015: 172
April 1, 2015: 173
March 1, 2015: 172
February 1, 2015: 170
January 1, 2015: 175
December 1, 2014: 174
November 1, 2014: 174
October 1, 2014: 174
September 1, 2014: 175
August 1, 2014: 174
July 1, 2014: 175
June 1, 2014: 177
May 1, 2014: 178

Blogs:

August 1, 2017: 16,217 (nice to see the numbers back!) (ILMK rank #10)
July 1, 2017: ILMK rank #9
June 1, 2017: ILMK rank #9 (blogs no longer appear separately in Newsstand…and searching for one of my own blogs, it did find it, but it said there were no results in the Kindle store)
May 1, 2017: I wasn’t able to find a number this time (ILMK rank #8)
April 1, 2017: 16,046 (ILMK rank #12) (+34)
March 1, 2017: 16,012 (ILMK rank: #8) (+19)
February 1, 2017: 15,993 (ILMK rank: #8)
January 1, 2017: 15,969 (ILMK rank: #11)
December 1, 2016: 15,942 (ILMK rank: #11)
November 1, 2016: 15,883 (ILMK rank: #10)
October 1, 2016: 15,864 (ILMK rank: #16)
September 1, 2016: number unavailable (Amazon has changed their search results) (ILMK rank: #10) Update 15,850
August 1, 2016: 15,792 (ILMK rank: #9)
July 1, 2016: 15,746 (ILMK rank: #8)
June 1, 2016: 15,708 (ILMK rank: #8)
May 1, 2016: 15,669 (ILMK rank: #14)
April 1, 2016: 15,351 (ILMK rank: I could not find a ranking for bestselling blogs)
March 1, 2016: 15,144 (ILMK rank: #9)
February 1, 2016: 15,156 (ILMK rank: #10)
January 1, 2016: 15,122 (ILMK rank: #8)
December 1, 2015: 15,071 (ILMK rank: #8)
November 1, 2015: 15,030 (ILMK rank: #8)
October 1, 2015: 14,983 (ILMK rank: #8)
September 1, 2015: 14,923 (ILMK rank: #8)
August 1, 2015: 14,883 (ILMK rank: #8)
July 1, 2015: 14,837 (ILMK rank:#8)
June 1, 2015: 14,768 (ILMK rank: #8)
May 1, 2015: 14,679 (ILMK rank: #8)
April 1, 2015: 14,648 (ILMK rank: #9)
March 1, 2015: 14,588 (ILMK rank: #8)
February 1, 2015: 14,419 (ILMK rank: #8)
January 1, 2015: 14,392 (ILMK rank: #10)
December 1, 2014: 14,337 (ILMK rank: #14)
November 1, 2014: 14,267
October 1, 2014: 14,189 (ILMK rank: #11)
September 1, 2014: 14,151 (ILMK rank: #12)
August 1, 2014: 14,089 (ILMK rank: #13)
July 1, 2014: 13,985 (ILMK rank: #13)
June 1, 2014: 13,924 (ILMK rank: #8)
May 1, 2014: 13,811 (ILMK rank: #10)

Percentage of books priced from one penny to $50 that are under ten dollars

July 2017 (taken August 1, 2017): 86.5% (4,444,889 of 5,454,920)
June 2017 (taken July 1, 2017): 86.6% (4,363,029 of 5,041,034)
May 2017 (taken June 1, 2017): 86.7% (4,313,259 of 4,973,278)
April 2017 (taken May 1, 2017): 86.7% (4,250,404 of 4,901,506)
March 2017 (taken April 1, 2017): 86.6% (4,196,608 of 4,843,952)
February 2017 (taken March 1, 2017): 86.6% (4,144,877 of 4,784,032)
January 2017 (taken February 1, 2017): 86.7% (4,099,841 of 4,731,096)
December 2016 (taken January 1, 2017): 86.9% (4,109,227 of 4,730,019)
November 2016 (taken December 1, 2016): 86.6% (4,603,953 of 3,989,241)
October 2016 (taken November 1, 2016): 86.3% (3,940,811 of 4,567,105)
September 2016,(taken October 1, 2016): 86.2% (3,881,084 of 4,499,991)
August 2016, (taken September 1, 2016): number unavailable Update: $0.01 to $50=4,470,630 | $0.01 to $9.99=3,853,639 | 86.2%
July 2016, (taken August 1, 2016): 85.6% (3,800,960 of 4,441,416)
June, 2016 (taken July 1, 2016): 86.1% (3,747,972 of 4,606,532)
May 2016, (taken June 1, 2016): 85.6% (4,26,357 of 3,678,86)
April, 2016 (taken May 1, 2016): 85.2% (3,598,659 of 4,225,884)
March, 2016 (taken April 1, 2016): 85.4% (3,587,825 of 4,203,311)
February, 2016 (taken March 1, 2016): 85.2% (3,522,742 of 4,133,304)
January, 2016 (taken February 1, 2016): 85.2% (3,440,910 of 4,038,776)
December, 2016 (taken January 1, 2016): 85.0% (3,350,232 of 3,490,070)
November, 2015 (taken December 1, 2015): 84.9% (3,242,119 of 3,818,499)
October, 2015 (taken November 1, 2015): 84.7% (3,166,691 of 3,736,839)
September, 2015 (taken October 1, 2015): 84.8% (3,096,037 of 3,652,166)
August, 2015: (taken September 1, 2015): 85.3% (3,048,620 of 3,575,587)
July, 2015 (taken August 1, 2015): 85.3% (2,969,714 of 3,482,960)
June, 2015 (taken July 1, 2015: 83.9% (2,893,481 of 3,408,090)
May, 2015 (taken June 1, 2015): 84.7% (2,800,318 of 3,306,054)
April, 2015 (taken May 1, 2015): 84.6% (2,736,106 of 3,232,290)
March, 2015 (taken April 1, 2015): 88.4% (2,802,470 of 3,171,379)
February, 2015 (taken March 1, 2015): 88.3% (2,721,649 of 3,083,344)
January, 2015 (taken February 1, 2015): 88.4% (2,630,162 of 2,976,291)
December, 2014 (taken January 1, 2015): 88.3% (2,567,412 of 2,907,638)
November, 2014 (taken December 1, 2014):88.3% (2,506,715 of 2,838,606)
October, 2014 (taken November 1, 2014): 88.4% (2,451,370 of 2,774,474)
September, 2014: (taken October 1, 2014): 88.2% (2,387,727 of 2,707,622)
August, 2014: (taken September 1, 2014): 87.9% (2,304,717 of 2,621,516)
July, 2014 (taken August 1, 2014): 87.7% (2,232,131 of 2,544,623)
June, 2014 (taken July 1, 2014): 87.7% (2,172,079 of 2,477,343)
May, 2014 (taken June 1, 2014): 74.6% (294,759 of 395,137) | Second run (to account for possible Amazon glitching): 87.6% (2,121,022 of 2,422,630)

Percentage of books with a publication date of the previous month priced from one penny to $50 that are under ten dollars

Books for July, 2017: 92.1% (97,838 of 106,266)
Books for June, 2017: 91.7% (88,860 of 96,928)
Books for May, 2017: 90.6% (83,527 of 92,179)
Books for April, 2017: 92.5% (79,847 of 86,318)
Books for March, 2017: 92.0% (85,450 of 92,905)
Books for February, 2017: 92.7% (78,288 of 84,493)
Books for January, 2017: 92.3% (81,965 of 88,810)
Books for December, 2016: 90.4% (78,386 of 86,689)
Books for November, 2016: 92.3% (80,218 of 86,941)
Books for October, 2016: 87.1% (80,417 of 92,350)
Books for September, 2016: 84.8% (77,656 of 91,542)
Books for August, 2016: 85.6% (83,972 or 98,113)
Books for July, 2016: 88.6% (81,803 of 92,207)
Books for June, 2016: 93.2% (82,227 of 88,180)
Books for May, 2016: 93.1% (82,022 of 88,070)
Books for April, 2016: 92.2% (80,910 of 87,717)
Books for March, 2016: 94.% (95,732 of 101,747)
Books for February 2016: 95.4% (112,307 of 117,729)
Books for January, 2016: 94.2% (87,774 of 93,160)
Books for December, 2016: 94.9% (96,092 of 101,225)
Books for November, 2015: 92.6% (79,061 of 85,397)
Books for October, 2015: 92.2% (76,789 of 83,244)
Books for September, 2015: 92.7% (78,419 of 84,314)
Books for August, 2015: 94.2% (83,159 of 88,243)
Books for July, 2015: 94.3% (81,843 of 86,827)
Books for June, 2015: 94.0% (80,396 of 85,535)
Books for May, 2015: 93.5% (74,211 of 79,388)
Books for April, 2015: 93.3% (76,455 of 81,914)
Books for March, 2015: 93.6% (85,581 of 91,471)
Books for February, 2015: 94.7% (74,806 of 78,979)
Books for January, 2015: 94.6% (73,166 of 77,329)
Books for December, 2014: 95.1% (72,247 of 77,048)
Books for November, 2014: 93.2% (72,264 of 77,550)
Books for October, 2014: 94.0% (72,051 of 76,646)
Books for September, 2014: 95.0% (77,730 of 81,864)
Books for August, 2014: 95.8% (72,127 of 75,293)
Books for July, 2014: 95.8% (72,543 of 75,750)
Books for June, 2014: 94.4% (63,104 of 66,856)
Books for May, 2014: 81.4% (3,177 of 3,905) | 2nd run to account for Amazon possibly glitching: 94.7% (65,080 of 68,713)

Books in the Seventy Percent Royalty Range ($2.99 – $9.99)

August 1, 2017: 61.3% (3,341,491 of 5,454,920)
July 1, 2017: 61.2% (3,273,547 of 5,347,117)
June 1, 2017: 61.5% (3,234,390 of 5,256,676)
May 1, 2017: 61.3% (3,184,293 of 5,191,246)
April 1, 2017: 61.3% (3,143,297 of 5,129,972)
March 1, 2017: 61.2% (3,108,757 of 5,081,365)
February 1, 2017: 61.1% (3,073,787 of 5,030,914)
January 1, 2017: 60.9% (3,030,096 of 4,972,110)
December 1, 2016: 60.8% (2,987,081 of 4,908,984)
November 1, 2016: 60.8% (2,956,217 of 4,861,264)
October 1, 2016: 60.6% (2,902,687 of 4,790,218)
September 1, 2016: number unavailable (Amazon has changed their search results) | Update on 9/3: 61.1% (2,897,126 of 4,742,587)
August 1, 2016: 61.2% (2,860,965 of 4,673,290)
July 1, 2016: 61.3% (2,821,664 of 4,606,532)
June 1, 2016: 61.0% (2,767,757 of 4,535,673)
May 1, 2016: 60.5% (2,704,477 of 4,466,976)
April 1, 2016: 61.1% (2,707,775 of 4,433,082)
March 1, 2016: 60.8% (2,647,699 of 4,356,852)
February 1, 2016: 60.7% (2,587,810 of 4,20,301)
January 1, 2016: 60.2% (2,507,452 of 4,168,071)
December 1, 2015: 60.5% (2,447,446 of 4,046,825)
November 1, 2015: 60.5% (2,398,461 of 3,961,896)
October 1, 2015: 60.3% (2,338,287 of 3,75,694)
September 1, 2015: 60.7% (2,306,295 of 3,799,099)
August 1, 2015: 60.6% (2,251,364 of 3,714,509)
July 1, 2015: 60.4% (2,195,452 of 3,636,269)
June 1, 2015: 60.5% (2,134,639 of 3,530,378)
May 1, 2015: 60.4% (2,088,376 of 3,457,009)
April 1, 2015: 64.1% (2,164,454 of 3,378,436)
March 1, 2015: 64.2% (2,111,025 of 3,288,124)
February 1, 2015: 64.3% (2,043,564 of 3,178,962)
January 1, 2015: 64.2% (1,992,162 of 3,104,677)
December 1, 2014: 64.2% (1,943,782 of 3,027,234)
November 1, 2014: 64.6% (1,909,982 of 2,958,430)
October 1, 2014: 64.3% (1,857,411 of 2,888,225)
September 1, 2014: 63.9% (1,778,889 of 2,801,221)
August 1, 2014: 63.6% (1,731,841 of 2,724,012)
July 1, 2014: 63.4% (1,684,876 of 2,655,727)
June 1, 2014: 8.7% (225,848 of 2,597,747) | second run to account for Amazon possibly glitching 63.4% (1,647,127 of 2,597,112)
May 1, 2014: 63.8% (1,644,029 of 2,576,453)

Books from one penny to $2.98

August 1, 2017: 21.1% (1,151,510 of 5,454,920)
July 1, 2017: 21.2% (1,136,108 of 5,347,117)
June 1, 2017: 21.4% (1,125,075 or 5,256,676)
May 1, 2017: 21.4% (1,111,527 of 5,191,246)
April 1, 2017: 21.4% (1,0975,88 of 5,129,972)
March 1, 2017: 21.2% (1,078,862 of 5,081,365)
February 1, 2017: 21.2% (1,067,995 of 5,030,914)
January 1, 2017: 21.3% (1,057,373 of 4,972,110)
December 1, 2016: 21.2% (1,042,980 of 4,908,984)
November 1, 2016: 21.1% (1,024,995 of 4,861,264)
October 1, 2016: 21.3% (1,018,083 of 4,790,218)
September 1, 2016: number unavailable (Amazon has changed their search results) Update 9/3: 21.1% (999,067 of 4,742,587)
August 1, 2016: 20.9% (977,901 of 4,673,290)
July 1, 2016: 20.9% (963,039 of 4,606,532)
June 1, 2016: 20.9% (947,387 of 4,535,673)
May 1, 2016: 20.8% (929,532 of 4,466,976)
April 1, 2016: 20.6% (914,517 of 4,433,082)
March 1, 2016: 20.8% (907,912 of 4,356,852)
February 1, 2016: 20.8% (884,290 of 4,260,301)
January 1, 2016: 20.8% (868,268 of 4,168,071)
December 1, 2015: 20.3% (819,885 of 4,046,825)
November 1, 2015: 20.0% (791,777 of 3,961,896)
October 1, 2015: 20.1% (780,371 of 3,875,694)
September 1, 2015: 20.1% (764,280 of 3,799,009)
August 1, 2015: 19.9% (739,684 of 3,714,509)
July 1, 2015: 19.8% (718,584 of 3,636,269)
June 1, 2015: 20.5% (685,609 of 3,350,378)
May 1, 2015: 19.3% (6,671,179 of 3,457,009)
April 1, 2015: 19.5% (657,728 of 3,378,436)
March 1, 2015: 21.3% (699,221 of 3,288,124)
February 1, 2015: 19.0% (603,638 of 3,178,962)
January 1, 2015: 19.1% (591,610 of 3,104,677)
December 1, 2014: 19.1% (579,121 of 3,027,234)
November 1, 2014: 18.8% (556,881 of 2,958,430)
October 1, 2014: 18.9% (545,350 of 2,888,225)
September 1, 2014: 18.9% (529,976 of 2,801,221)
August 1, 2014: 18.9% (513,541 of 2,724,012)
July 1, 2014: 18.8% (499,756 of 2,655,727)
June 1, 2014: 2.7% (70,679 of 2,596,747) | second run to account for Amazon possibly glitching: 18.7% (485,799 of 2,597,112)
May 1, 2014: 18.4% (474,202 of 2,576,453)

Price Point Analysis of New York Times Hardback Fiction Equivalents

August 1, 2017

14.99 14.99 14.99 14.99 12.99 14.99 14.99
13.99 N/A 14.99 14.99 11.99 14.99 12.99 13.99

Average: $14.35 (+$0.03) 0 titles under $10 (first time in a long time a title hasn’t been available in Kindle format)

July 1, 2017

14.99 14.99 14.99 14.99 14.99 12.99 13.99 14.99
14.99 14.99 17.99 13.99 14.99 7.99 12.99

Average: $14.32 (+$0.53) 1 title under $10

June 1, 2017

14.99 13.99 14.99 13.99 14.99 14.99 6.99 14.99
14.99 12.99 13.99 14.99 13.99 11.99 13.99

Average: $13.79 (+$0.31) 1 title under $10

May 1, 2017

14.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 13.99 9.32 12.99
12.99 14.99 12.99 13.99 13.99 12.99 12.99

Average: $13.48 (+$0.03) 1 title under $10

April 1, 2017

14.99 14.99 9.32 12.99 12.99 9.45 13.99 13.99
12.99 13.99 14.99 12.99 14.99 13.99 14.99

Average: $13.44 (-0.68) 2 titles under $10

March 1, 2017

13.99 12.98 12.99 14.99 14.99 13.99 14.99
13.99 13.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 14.99 13.99 14.99

Average: $14.12 (-0.60) 0 titles under $10

February 1, 2017:

14.99 13.99 13.99 14.99 14.99 14.99 14.99 14.99
14.99 14.99 14.99 13.99 13.99 14.99 14.99

Average: $14.72 (+0.28) 0 titles under $10 ($1.28 higher than one year ago)

January 1, 2017:

14.99 14.99 13.99 13.99 14.99 14.99 14.99 14.99 14.99 13.99
14.99 14.99 14.99 14.99 13.99 14.99 14.99 13.99 13.99 9.99

Average: $14.44 (+.05) 1 title under $10

December 1, 2016:

14.99 14.99 14.99 14.99 14.99 13.99 14.99 10.99 14.99 14.99
12.99 14.99 14.99 13.99 13.99 14.99 14.99 13.99 14.99 12.99

Average: $14.39 (+0.50) 0 titles under $10

November 1, 2016

14.99 13.99 14.99 14.99 14.99 12.99 13.99 13.99 13.99 13.99
13.99 13.99 14.99 11.99 13.99 9.99 13.99 13.99 14.99 12.99

Average: $13.89 (-.04) 1 title under $10

October 1, 2016

13.99 14.99 12.99 13.99 13.99 14.99 12.99 14.99 14.99 13.99
12.99 14.99 13.99 13.99 12.99 12.99 9.99 12.99 14.99 16.86

Average: $13.93 (+0.29) 1 title under $10

September 1, 2016

13.99 12.99 13.99 13.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 13.99 13.99 14.99
13.99 14.99 9.99 14.99 13.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 13.99 12.99

Average: $13.64 (-0.10) 1 title under $10

August 1, 2016

14.99 9.99 13.99 10.99 14.99 9.99 14.99 13.99 14.99 13.99
14.99 14.99 13.99 13.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 11.99 13.99

Average: $13.54 (-0.30) 2 titles under $10

July 1, 2016

14.99 13.99 13.99 14.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 13.99 14.99 14.99
14.99 13.99 13.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 13.99 12.99 9.99

Average: $13.84 (+0.45) 1 title under $10

June 1, 2016

14.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 12.99 13.99 14.99 14.99 10.99
13.99 12.99 14.99 9.99 12.99 14.99 12.99 13.99 12.99 8.99

Average: $13.39 (-0.10) 2 titles under $10

May 1, 2016:

14.99 12.99 13.99 13.99 12.99 9.99 13.99 13.99 12.99 12.99
13.99 13.99 12.99 $12.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 13.99 13.99 13.99

Average: $13.49 (+0.01) 1 title under $10

April 1, 2016

14.99 14.99 13.99 9.99 13.99 12.99 13.99 14.99 13.99 14.99
13.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 13.99 10.99 12.99 14.74 11.99

Average: $13.48 (+0.04) 1 title under $10

March 1, 2016

12.99 13.99 12.99 9.99 13.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99
13.99 12.99 13.99 10.99 14.99 14.99 12.99 13.99 14.99 13.99

Average: $13.44 (+0.17) 1 title under $10

February 1, 2016

12.99 13.99 12.99 13.99 13.99 9.99 12.99 N/A 12.99 12.99
12.99 13.99 14.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 N/A 12.99 11.99 13.99

Average: $13.27 (-.52) 1 title under $10

January 1, 2016

12.99 13.99 12.99 14.99 14.99 11.99 12.99 14.99 12.99 14.99
9.99 13.99 13.99 14.99 13.99 14.99 14.99 12.99 14.99 12.99

Average: $13.79 (+.70) 1 title under $10

December 1, 2015

13.99 14.99 12.99 14.99 12.99 14.99 13.99 14.99 10.99 12.99
13.99 9.99 11.99 13.99 4.99 14.99 11.99 13.99 14.99 12.99

Average: $13.09 (-.50) 2 titles under $10

November 1, 2015

12.99 14.99 14.99 14.99 14.99 13.99 13.99 12.99 11.99 14.99
13.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 14.99 9.99 12.99 13.99 12.99

Average: $13.59 (+.03) 1 title under $10

October 1, 2015

14.99 13.99 13.99 14.99 13.99 7.99 12.99 14.99 12.99 13.99
12.99 9.45 12.99 14.99 13.99 13.99 13.99 13.99 13.99 14.99

Average: $13.56 (+$0.72) 2 titles under $10

September 1, 2015

13.99 7.99 13.99 12.99 14.99 14.99 13.99 12.99 12.99 8.99
11.99 12.99 14.99 12.99 14.99 9.99 12.99 12.99 11.99 12.99

Average: $12.84 (+$1.33) 3 titles under $10

August 1, 2015

13.99 6.99 13.99 9.99 14.99 9.99 10.99 8.99 8.99 11.43
9.99 11.99 14.99 10.99 10.99 10.99 12.99 10.99 12.99 12.99

Average; $11.51 (-$0.62) 6 titles under $10

July 1, 2015

13.99 6.99 8.99 14.99 10.99 11.99 8.99 9.99 12.99 16.99
11.84 12.99 13.99 11.99 9.99 14.99 14.99 10.99 12.99 10.99

Average: $12.13 (+$0.16) 5 titles under $10

June 1, 2015

6.99 13.99 16.99 9.99 9.99 12.99 10.99 8.99 12.99 12.99
11.43 11.99 12.99 12.99 9.99 12.99 11.84 12.31 14.99 10.99

Average: $11.97 (+$1.69) 5 titles under $10

May 1, 2015

6.99 12.31 8.99 8.99 8.97 8.99 12.99 11.84 10.99 11.84
12.99 6.99 11.84 9.99 12.99 12.99 5.99 9.10 12.99 6.86

Average: $10.28 (-$1.40) 10 titles under $10

April 1, 2015

6.99 12.99 9.99 13.59 10.99 10.99 10.99 12.99 11.99 10.99
12.99 12.99 11.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 12.99 9.99 9.19 11.99

Average: $11.68 (+$0.57) 4 titles under $10

March 1, 2015

8.99 11.99 10.49 10.99 12.99 14.99 9.99 9.99 9.99 11.99
12.99 11.99 9.79 11.99 11.99 10.99 9.99 10.99 5.99 12.99

Average: $11.11 (+$1.34) 7 titles under $10

February 1, 2015

8.99 11.99 9.79 12.99 9.79 9.99 11.99 7.99 9.99 3.99
12.99 11.99 8.99 5.99 3.99 10.99 6.99 10.99 12.99 11.99

Average: $9.77 (+$0.11) 11 titles under $10

January 1, 2015

9.99 7.69 9.99 7.19 10.99 11.99 10.99 3.99 11.99 7.49
10.99 11.89 6.99 10.99 9.99 10.99 10.99 5.99 10.99 10.99

Average: $9.66 (+$0.09) 9 titles under $10

December 1, 2014

10.99 12.74 3.25 9.78 4.99 10.99 12.99 6.99 11.84 10.99
10.99 5.00 9.99 9.78 9.09 10.99 10.99 10.99 6.99 10.99

Average: $9.57 (-$0.65) 9 titles under $10

November 1, 2014

10.99 9.99 11.99 6.50 10.99 10.99 6.99 10.99 10.99 10.99
10.99 6.99 10.99 10.99 10.99 11.99 10.99 10.99 7.99 9.99

Average: $10.22 (-$0.86) 6 titles under $10

October 1, 2014

10.99 10.99 11.99 10.99 12.99 10.99 11.99 12.74 11.99 9.99
10.99 10.99 8.99 6.99 10.99 11.99 10.99 12.99 7.99 12.99

Average: $11.08 (-$0.43) 4 titles under $10

September 1, 2014

9.99 10.99 13.99 10.99 6.99 13.99 10.99 10.99 12.99 11.99
10.99 14.99 11.84 11.99 9.99 11.84 8.99 11.99 12.74 10.99

Average: $11.51 (+$0.56) 4 titles under $10

August 1, 2014

8.99 8.99 10.99 11.99 11.84 6.99 11.99 10.99 10.99 10.99
10.99 8.52 12.99 14.99 10.99 N/A 12.74 10.99 10.99 9.99

Average: $10.95 (+$0.30) 5 titles under $10

July 1, 2014

11.84 8.99 11.99 11.99 10.99 6.99 11.99 11.84 12.99 10.49
10.99 7.99 11.99 10.99 7.99 11.99 5.99 11.84 12.99 9.99

Average: $10.64 (+$0.22) 6 titles under $10

June 1, 2014

8.99 7.50 8.99 8.99 12.99 10.99 10.99 9.99 10.99 14.44
10.99 10.99 9.99 11.84 10.99 8.99 11.84 10.99 5.99 10.99

Average: $10.42 (-$0.16) 8 titles under $10

May 1, 2014

10.99 11.04 10.99 7.50 8.99 10.99 10.99 10.99 12.99 12.99
11.04 5.99 10.99 9.10 12.99 8.55 10.99 13.99 9.99 9.45

Average: $10.58 (-$0.27) 7 titles under $10

Textbooks in the Kindle Store

August 1, 2017: 52,596 (+1,089)
July 1, 2017: 51,507 (+930)
June 1, 2017: 50,577 (+603)
May 1, 2017: 49,974 (+375)
April 1, 2017: 49,599
March 1, 2017: 48,854
February 1, 2017: 48,037
January 1, 2017: 47,568
December 1, 2016: 47,079
November 1, 2016: 59,790
October 1, 2016: 58,158
September 1, 2016: number unavailable (Amazon has changed its search results)| 9/3: 58,033
August 1, 2016: 64,027
July 1, 2016: 63,869
June 1, 2016: 63,301
May 1, 2016: 62,577
April 1, 2016: 61,867
March 1, 2016: 61,532
February 1, 2016: 60,985
January 1, 2016: 59,826
December 1, 2015: 59,953
November 1, 2015: 58,582
October 1, 2015: 58,203
September 1, 2015: 48,650
August 1, 2015: 48,063
July 1, 2015: 47,977
June 1, 2015: 47,388
May 1, 2015: 46,799
April 1, 2015: 46,482
March 1, 2015: 46,145
February 1, 2015: 46,265
January 1, 2015: 45,345
December 1, 2014: 44,787
November 1, 2014: 44,250
October 1, 2014: 43,910
September 1, 2014: 43,385
August 1, 2014: 42,643
July 1, 2014: 42,114
June 1, 2014: 40,810
May 1, 2014: 39,687

Free books (including public domain)

August 1, 2017: 92,344 (-2%)
July 1, 2017: 94,294 (+2%)
June 1, 2017: 92,274 (+1%)
May 1, 2017: 91,043 (-2%)
April 1, 2017: 92,489 (+3%)
March 1, 2017: 90,113 (+0%)
February 1, 2017: 89,546 (-1%)
January 1, 2017: 90,706 (+0%)
December 1, 2016: 90,637 (+1%)
November 1, 2016: 88,973 (-1%)
October 1, 2016: 90,005 (-0%)
September 1, 2016: number not available (Amazon has changed its search results) 9/3: 90,180 (+3%)
August 1, 2016: 87,789 (-2%)
July 1, 2016: 89,564 (+5%)
June 1, 2016: 85,502 (-0%)
May 1, 2016: 85,895 (+3%)
April 1, 2016: 83,725 (-1%)
March 1, 2016: 84,422 (+2%)
February 1, 2016: 82,583 (-0%)
January 1, 2016: 82,656 (+2%)
December 1, 2015: 81,264 (+1%)
November 1, 2015: 80,629 (+1%)
October 1, 2015: 79,676 (+2%)
September 1, 2015: 77,976 (-1%)
August 1, 2015: 78,922 (+1%)
July 1, 2015: 77,735 (+1%)
June 1, 2015: 76,688 (-1%)
May 1, 2015: 77,248 (+3%)
April 1, 2015: 74,974 (-0%)
March 1, 2015: 75,030 (+2%)
February 1, 2015: 73,489 (+0%)
January 1, 2015: 73,041 (+13%)
December 1, 2014: 64,805
November 1, 2014: 63,897
October 1, 2014: 61,828
September 1, 2014: 61,787
August 1, 2014: 61,381
July 1, 2014: 60,103
June 1, 2014: 59,848
May 1, 2014: 59,957

Free books (without public domain)

August 1, 2017: 48,155 (-4%)
July 1, 2017: 50,095 (+4%)
June 1, 2017: 48,021 (+3%)
May 1, 2017: 46,786 (-3%)
April 1, 2017: 48,235 (+5%)
March 1, 2017: 45,836 (+1%)
February 1, 2017: 45,278 (-2%)
January 1, 2017: 46,345 (-1%)
December 1, 2016: 46,627 (+4%)
November 1, 2016: 44,710 (-2%)
October 1, 2016: 45,792 (-0%)
September 1, 2016: number not available (Amazon has changed its search results) | 9/3: 45,975 (+5%)
August 1, 2016: 43,638 (-5%)
July 1, 2016: 45,814 (+11%)
June 1, 2016: 41,428
May 1, 2016: 41,755
April 1, 2016: 39,760
March 1, 2016: 41,277
February 1, 2016: 38,516 (-0%)
January 1, 2016: 38,550 (+4%)
December 1, 2015: 37,191 (+55%)
November 1, 2015: 23,872 (+2%)
October 1, 2015: 23,307 (+8%)
September 1, 2015: 21,575 (-3%)
August 1, 2015: 22,154 (+3%)
July 1, 2015: 21,572 (+4%)
June 1, 2015: 20,740 (-3%)
May 1, 2015: 21,362 (+9%)
April 1, 2015: 19,508 (+1%)
March 1, 2015: 19,232 (+4%)
February 1, 2015: 18,489 (+3%)
January 1, 2015: 17,983 (+5%)
December 1, 2014: 17,160
November 1, 2014: 16,735
October 1, 2014: 15,099
September 1, 2014: 15,190
August 1, 2014: 14,717
July 1, 2014: 13,300
June 1, 2014: 12,490
May 1, 2014: 13,191

Spanish edition books*

August 1, 2017: 236,925 (+2%)
July 1, 2017: 233,077 (+2%)
June 1, 2017: 229,099 (+2%)
May 1, 2017: 225,114 (+2%)
April 1, 2017: 221,410 (+2%)
March 1, 2017: 217,055 (+2%)
February 1, 2017: 212,667 (+2%)
January 1, 2017: 208,843 (+2%)
December 1, 2016: 204,709 (+2%)
November 1, 2016: 201,195
October 1, 2016: 197,286 (+1)
September 1, 2016: number not available (Amazon has changed its search results) | 9/3: 194,747 (+0%)
August 1, 2016: 193,784 (+2%)
July 1, 2016: 190,183 (+2%)
June 1, 2016: 186,750 (+2%)
May 1, 2016: 183,132 (+1)
April 1, 2016: 180,538 (+2%)
March 1, 2016: 176,351 (+3%)
February 1, 2016: 172,246 (+5%)
January 1, 2016: 168,253 (+3%)
December 1, 2015: 163,218 (+2%)
November 1, 2015: 160,225 (+3%)
October 1, 2015: 156,158 (+2%)
September 1, 2015: 152,538 (+3%)
August 1, 2015: 148,388 (+4%)
July 1, 2015: 143,665 (+3%)
June 1, 2015: 139,519 (+2%)
May 1, 2015: 137,022 (+3%)
April 1, 2015: 132,496 (+3%)
March 1, 2015: 128,918 (+3%)
February 1, 2015: 125,505 (+2%)
January 1, 2015: 123,171 (+3%)
December 1, 2014: 119,963
November 1, 2014: 116,680
October 1, 2014: 113,491
September 1, 2014: 109,395
August 1, 2014: 101,643
July 1, 2014: 98,048
June 1, 2014: 95,632
May 1, 2014: 92,954

Books in the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL)

August 1, 2017: 1,624,853 (31.6%)
July 1, 2017: 1,585,197 (29.6%)
June 1, 2017: 1,543,502 (29.3%)
May 1, 2017: 1,515,616 (29%)
April 1, 2017: 1,489,789 (29.0%)
March 1, 2017: 1,470,956 (28.9%)
February 1, 2017: 1,462,182 (29.1%)
January 1, 2017: 1,444,685 (29.1%)
December 1, 2016: 1,429,581 (29.1%)
November 1, 2016: 1,396,901 (28.7%)
October 1, 2016: 1,377,307 (+0%)
September 1, 2016: number not available (Amazon has changed its search results) | 9/3: 1,371,701 (+2%)
August 1, 2016: 1,338,554 (29.6%)
July 1, 2016: 1,340,583 (29.1%)
June 1, 2016: 1,298,473 (28.1%)
May 1, 2016: 1,262,989 (28.3%)
April 1, 2016: 1,277,964 (28.8%)
March 1, 2016: 1,250,894
February 1, 2016: 1,199,281 (26%)
January 1, 2016: 1,168,736 (28.0%)
December 1, 2015: 1,132,942 (28.0%)
November 1, 2015: 1,109,339 (28.0%)
October 1, 2015: 1,084,779 (27.9%)
September 1, 2015: 1,057,291 (27.9%)
August 1, 2015: 1,022,270 (27.5%)
July 1, 2015: 995,047 (27.4%)
June 1, 2015: 957,481 (27.1%)
May 1, 2015: 920,564 (26.6%)
April 1, 2015: 890,629 (24.3%)
March 1, 2015: 853,036 (25.9%)
February 1, 2015: 823,258 (25.9%)
January 1, 2015: 794,093 (25.6%)
December 1, 2014: 764,249 (25.2%)
November 1, 2014: 724,218 (25.1%)
October 1, 2014: 710,979 (24.6%)
September 1, 2014: 673,206 (24.0%)
August 1, 2014: 638,545 (23.4%)
July 1, 2014: 604,950 (22.8%)
June 1, 2014: 586,812 (22.6%)
May 1, 2014: 566,893 (22.0%)

Books in Kindle Unlimited

August 1, 2017: 1,663,861 (32.4% of total)
July 1, 2017: 1,624,927 (30.3% of total)
June 1, 2017: 1,582,899 (30.1% of total)
May 1, 2017: 1,554,536 (29.9% of total)
April 1, 2017: 1,528,441 (29.8% of total)
March 1, 2017: 1,510,746 (29.7% of total)
February 1, 2017: 1,499,100 (29.8% of total)
January 1, 2017: 1,476,314 (29.7% of total)
December 1, 2016: 1,460,545 (29.8% of the total)
November 1, 2016: 1,423,511
October 1, 2016: 1,404,125 (29.3% of the total)
September 1, 2016: 1,387,593
August 1, 2016: 1,361,620
July 1, 2016: 1,340,737 (29.1% of total)
June 1, 2016: 1,311,185
May 1, 2016: 1,282,695 (28.7% of total)
April 1, 2016: 1,295,483 (29.2% of total)
March 1, 2016: 1,268,842 (29.1% of total)
February 1, 2016: 1,217,059 (28.5% of total)
January 1, 2016: 1,189,911 (28.5% of total)
December 1, 2015: 1,156,686 (28.6% of total)
November 1, 2015: 1,133,293 (28.6% of total)
October 1, 2015: 1,108,762 +2%) (28.6% of total)
September 1, 2015: 1,084,510 (+3%) (28.5% of total)
August 1, 2015: 1,050,688 (+3%) (28.3% of total)
July 1, 2015: 1,023,395 (+4%) (28.1% of total)
June 1, 2015: 984,701 (+4%) (27.9% of total)
May 1, 2015: 948,638 (+3%) (27.4% of total)
April 1, 2015: 918,839 (+4%) (27.2% of total)
March 1, 2015: 880,916 (+4%)
February 1, 2015: 850,027 (+4%)
January 1, 2015: 820,865 (+4%)
December 1, 2014: 791,011 (+3%)
November 1, 2014: 765,236 (+4%)
October 1, 2014: 733,167 (+5%)
September 1, 2014: 696,171 (+5%)
August 1, 2014: 661,111 (new measurement)

Books in Prime Reading

August 1, 2017: 1,026 (-5)
July 1, 2017: 1,031 (-50)
June 1, 2017: 1,081 (+36)
May 1, 2017: 1,045 (-61)
April 1, 2017: 1,106 (+20)
March 1, 2017: 1,086 (+106)
February 1, 2017: 980 (-552)
January 1, 2017: 1,532 (+504)
December 1, 2016: 1,028
November 1, 2016: 1,013 (new measurement)

Books in the Kindle Matchbook program

August 1, 2017: 73,034 (-214)
July 1, 2017: 73,248 (-121)
June 1, 2017: 73,369 (-177)
May 1, 2017: 73,546 (-246)
April 1, 2017: 73,792 (-236)
March 1, 2017: 74,028
February 1, 2017: 74,252
January 1, 2017: 74,441
December 1, 2016: 74,452
November 1, 2016: 74,747
October 1, 2016: 75,067
September 1, 2016: number not available (Amazon has changed its search results) | 9/3: 75,242
August 1, 2016: 75,478
July 1, 2016: 75,794 (-0%)
June 1, 2016: 75,937
May 1, 2016: 76,194 (-0%)
April 1, 2016: 76,497 (-1%)
March 1, 2016: 77,175 (-1%)
February 1, 2016: 77,613 (-0%)
January 1, 2016: 77,877 (-0%)
December 1, 2015: 78,148 (-0%)
November 1, 2015: 78,422 (-0%)
October 1, 2015: 78,677 (-0%)
September 1, 2015: 78,940 (-0%)
August 1, 2015: 79,174 (-1%)
July 1, 2015: 79,656 (-0%)
June 1, 2015: 79,917 (-0%)
May 1, 2015: 80,311 (-0%)
April 1, 2015: 80,594 (-1%)
March 1, 2015: 81,045 (-0%)
February 1, 2015: 81,515 (-0%)
January 1, 2015: 82,228 (-1%)
December 1, 2014: 82,643 (+1%)
November 1, 2014: 81,969 (+81%)
October 1, 2014: 45,267 (-39%)
September 1, 2014: 73,820 (+8%)
August 1, 2014: 68,453 (+1%)
July 1, 2014: 67,466 (-1%)
June 1, 2014: 67,787 (-1%)
May 1, 2014: 68,240 (-16%)

Price Point Analysis

April 1, 2010 was “Agency Day”, when the pricing system for some of the largest trade publishers in the US changed. I’ve started tracking price points, to see how that is affecting things. These are not ranges: it’s how many books are at a specific price point.

7/1/2017
Total	5,137,014
Prime	4,444,889
Under $10	3,341,191
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$0.99	657,304	12.80%	0.64%
$1.99	261,901	5.10%	0.31%
$2.99	1,020,409	19.86%	1.18%
$3.99	404,288	7.87%	0.46%
$4.99	305,470	5.95%	0.36%
$5.99	163,729	3.19%	0.19%
$6.99	108,245	2.11%	0.13%
$7.99	143,562	2.79%	0.19%
$8.99	73,269	1.43%	0.08%
$9.99	389,717	7.59%	0.44%
$10.99	44,246	0.86%	0.08%
$11.99	47,249	0.92%	0.03%
$12.99	35,184	0.68%	0.03%
$13.99	22,466	0.44%	0.02%
$14.99	43,930	0.86%	0.05%
$15.99	17,103	0.33%	0.03%
$16.99	15,181	0.30%	0.02%
$17.99	9,085	0.18%	0.02%
$18.99	11,243	0.22%	0.02%
$19.99	19,035	0.37%	0.02%
$20.99	3,408	0.07%	0.01%
$21.99	4,310	0.08%	0.00%
$22.99	4,943	0.10%	0.01%
$23.99	5,341	0.10%	0.01%
$24.99	5,543	0.11%	0.01%

---

 

7/1/2017
Total	5,347,117
Prime	5,041,034
Under $10	4,363,029
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$0.99	649,839	12.15%	-0.05%
$1.99	255,881	4.79%	-0.03%
$2.99	998,962	18.68%	0.00%
$3.99	395,977	7.41%	0.02%
$4.99	298,607	5.58%	-0.04%
$5.99	160,294	3.00%	-0.01%
$6.99	105,569	1.97%	0.02%
$7.99	139,279	2.60%	-0.08%
$8.99	72,150	1.35%	0.02%
$9.99	382,278	7.15%	-0.09%
$10.99	41,910	0.78%	0.10%
$11.99	47,782	0.89%	0.01%
$12.99	35,168	0.66%	-0.01%
$13.99	22,222	0.42%	0.02%
$14.99	43,122	0.81%	0.00%
$15.99	16,120	0.30%	0.02%
$16.99	14,511	0.27%	-0.01%
$17.99	8,158	0.15%	0.01%
$18.99	10,812	0.20%	0.03%
$19.99	18,716	0.35%	0.00%
$20.99	3,245	0.06%	0.01%
$21.99	4,247	0.08%	0.01%
$22.99	4,751	0.09%	0.00%
$23.99	4,827	0.09%	0.01%
$24.99	5,478	0.10%	0.00%

—

6/1/2017
Total	5,256,676
Prime	4,973,278
Under $10	4,313,259
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$0.99	641,542	12.20%	-0.16%
$1.99	253,102	4.81%	-0.13%
$2.99	981,919	18.68%	-0.15%
$3.99	388,319	7.39%	-0.11%
$4.99	295,549	5.62%	-0.08%
$5.99	158,218	3.01%	-0.03%
$6.99	102,680	1.95%	-0.03%
$7.99	141,208	2.69%	0.02%
$8.99	69,623	1.32%	-0.01%
$9.99	380,448	7.24%	-0.14%
$10.99	35,989	0.68%	0.00%
$11.99	46,244	0.88%	0.16%
$12.99	35,259	0.67%	-0.01%
$13.99	20,850	0.40%	-0.01%
$14.99	42,542	0.81%	-0.03%
$15.99	15,030	0.29%	-0.01%
$16.99	14,549	0.28%	-0.01%
$17.99	7,706	0.15%	0.00%
$18.99	9,201	0.18%	0.00%
$19.99	18,160	0.35%	0.00%
$20.99	2,907	0.06%	0.00%
$21.99	3,595	0.07%	0.00%
$22.99	4,762	0.09%	0.00%
$23.99	4,430	0.08%	0.00%
$24.99	5,539	0.11%	0.00%

—

5/1/2017
Total	5,191,246
Prime	4,901,506
Under $10	4,250,404
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$0.99	634,147	12.36%	0.16%
$1.99	253,490	4.94%	0.06%
$2.99	966,086	18.83%	0.20%
$3.99	384,583	7.50%	0.07%
$4.99	292,331	5.70%	0.12%
$5.99	156,102	3.04%	0.09%
$6.99	101,960	1.99%	0.03%
$7.99	136,778	2.67%	0.05%
$8.99	68,397	1.33%	-0.07%
$9.99	378,484	7.38%	0.08%
$10.99	35,343	0.69%	0.00%
$11.99	36,934	0.72%	-0.16%
$12.99	34,747	0.68%	0.00%
$13.99	21,019	0.41%	-0.03%
$14.99	43,118	0.84%	-0.02%
$15.99	15,028	0.29%	0.00%
$16.99	14,506	0.28%	0.00%
$17.99	7,763	0.15%	-0.01%
$18.99	9,026	0.18%	0.01%
$19.99	17,894	0.35%	0.00%
$20.99	2,858	0.06%	0.00%
$21.99	3,470	0.07%	0.00%
$22.99	4,802	0.09%	0.01%
$23.99	4,343	0.08%	-0.01%
$24.99	5,552	0.11%	0.00%

—

4/1/2017
Total	5,129,972
Prime	4,843,952
Under $10	4,196,608
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$0.99	626,052	12.20%	0.06%
$1.99	250,240	4.88%	0.01%
$2.99	955,627	18.63%	0.06%
$3.99	380,806	7.42%	0.01%
$4.99	286,425	5.58%	0.06%
$5.99	151,245	2.95%	0.03%
$6.99	100,324	1.96%	0.00%
$7.99	134,358	2.62%	-0.01%
$8.99	71,961	1.40%	-0.08%
$9.99	374,414	7.30%	-0.10%
$10.99	35,249	0.69%	-0.05%
$11.99	45,245	0.88%	-0.02%
$12.99	34,679	0.68%	-0.02%
$13.99	22,418	0.44%	-0.02%
$14.99	44,099	0.86%	-0.01%
$15.99	14,892	0.29%	-0.02%
$16.99	14,294	0.28%	-0.01%
$17.99	8,020	0.16%	-0.02%
$18.99	8,340	0.16%	0.00%
$19.99	17,957	0.35%	-0.02%
$20.99	2,701	0.05%	0.00%
$21.99	3,320	0.06%	0.00%
$22.99	4,479	0.09%	0.00%
$23.99	4,935	0.10%	-0.02%
$24.99	5,548	0.11%	-0.01%

—

3/1/2017
Total	5,081,365
Prime	4,784,032
Under $10	4,144,877
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$0.99	617,306	12.15%	0.01%
$1.99	247,218	4.87%	0.00%
$2.99	943,631	18.57%	0.01%
$3.99	376,521	7.41%	0.01%
$4.99	280,748	5.53%	0.01%
$5.99	148,511	2.92%	0.01%
$6.99	99,129	1.95%	0.02%
$7.99	133,567	2.63%	0.02%
$8.99	75,480	1.49%	0.02%
$9.99	375,725	7.39%	-0.05%
$10.99	37,504	0.74%	0.01%
$11.99	45,652	0.90%	-0.02%
$12.99	35,121	0.69%	-0.01%
$13.99	23,266	0.46%	0.00%
$14.99	44,376	0.87%	0.01%
$15.99	15,580	0.31%	0.00%
$16.99	14,691	0.29%	0.00%
$17.99	8,707	0.17%	0.00%
$18.99	8,076	0.16%	0.00%
$19.99	18,962	0.37%	0.00%
$20.99	2,830	0.06%	0.00%
$21.99	3,388	0.07%	0.00%
$22.99	4,593	0.09%	0.00%
$23.99	5,754	0.11%	0.00%
$24.99	5,847	0.12%	0.00%

—

2/1/2017
Total	5,030,914
Prime	4,731,096
Under $10	4,099,841
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$0.99	610,715	12.14%	-0.19%
$1.99	244,770	4.87%	0.15%
$2.99	933,874	18.56%	0.14%
$3.99	372,344	7.40%	0.06%
$4.99	277,330	5.51%	-0.09%
$5.99	146,309	2.91%	0.01%
$6.99	97,252	1.93%	0.00%
$7.99	131,445	2.61%	-0.01%
$8.99	73,745	1.47%	0.01%
$9.99	374,666	7.45%	0.07%
$10.99	36,565	0.73%	0.03%
$11.99	45,970	0.91%	0.00%
$12.99	35,339	0.70%	-0.01%
$13.99	23,191	0.46%	-0.01%
$14.99	43,217	0.86%	0.00%
$15.99	15,411	0.31%	-0.02%
$16.99	14,441	0.29%	0.00%
$17.99	8,561	0.17%	0.01%
$18.99	7,952	0.16%	0.00%
$19.99	18,595	0.37%	0.01%
$20.99	2,757	0.05%	0.00%
$21.99	3,335	0.07%	0.01%
$22.99	4,439	0.09%	0.00%
$23.99	5,540	0.11%	0.00%
$24.99	5,655	0.11%	0.00%

---

1/1/2017
Total	4,972,110
Prime	4,730,019
Under $10	4,109,227
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$0.99	613,271	12.33%	0.12%
$1.99	234,236	4.71%	-0.11%
$2.99	916,038	18.42%	0.04%
$3.99	365,034	7.34%	-0.01%
$4.99	278,443	5.60%	0.01%
$5.99	143,880	2.89%	0.00%
$6.99	95,969	1.93%	0.02%
$7.99	130,308	2.62%	0.03%
$8.99	72,331	1.45%	-0.02%
$9.99	366,584	7.37%	-0.01%
$10.99	34,861	0.70%	0.00%
$11.99	45,242	0.91%	-0.01%
$12.99	35,454	0.71%	0.00%
$13.99	23,493	0.47%	-0.01%
$14.99	42,874	0.86%	0.02%
$15.99	16,195	0.33%	0.01%
$16.99	14,327	0.29%	-0.02%
$17.99	7,821	0.16%	0.00%
$18.99	7,838	0.16%	-0.01%
$19.99	17,748	0.36%	0.00%
$20.99	2,714	0.05%	0.00%
$21.99	3,034	0.06%	0.00%
$22.99	4,382	0.09%	0.00%
$23.99	5,445	0.11%	0.00%
$24.99	5,764	0.12%	0.00%

---

12/1/2016
Total	4,908,984
Prime	4,603,953
Under $10	3,989,241
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$0.99	599,433	12.21%	0.06%
$1.99	236,600	4.82%	0.08%
$2.99	902,330	18.38%	0.03%
$3.99	361,037	7.35%	-0.09%
$4.99	274,351	5.59%	0.04%
$5.99	142,254	2.90%	0.02%
$6.99	93,552	1.91%	0.04%
$7.99	126,945	2.59%	0.00%
$8.99	72,556	1.48%	0.00%
$9.99	362,520	7.38%	0.05%
$10.99	34,569	0.70%	0.03%
$11.99	44,997	0.92%	0.02%
$12.99	34,970	0.71%	0.02%
$13.99	23,786	0.48%	0.01%
$14.99	41,442	0.84%	0.02%
$15.99	15,552	0.32%	0.01%
$16.99	15,113	0.31%	0.00%
$17.99	7,573	0.15%	0.00%
$18.99	8,235	0.17%	0.00%
$19.99	17,422	0.35%	0.00%
$20.99	2,742	0.06%	0.00%
$21.99	3,044	0.06%	0.00%
$22.99	4,368	0.09%	0.00%
$23.99	5,291	0.11%	0.00%
$24.99	5,563	0.11%	-0.11%

—

11/2/2016
Total	4,863,729
Prime	4,569,483
Under $10	3,942,697
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$0.99	590,896	12.15%	-0.14%
$1.99	230,668	4.74%	0.05%
$2.99	892,564	18.35%	0.08%
$3.99	362,196	7.45%	0.06%
$4.99	270,058	5.55%	0.00%
$5.99	139,806	2.87%	0.04%
$6.99	90,844	1.87%	0.00%
$7.99	126,013	2.59%	0.00%
$8.99	71,962	1.48%	0.01%
$9.99	356,843	7.34%	-0.02%
$10.99	33,001	0.68%	0.02%
$11.99	43,725	0.90%	0.00%
$12.99	33,898	0.70%	0.00%
$13.99	23,073	0.47%	0.01%
$14.99	40,183	0.83%	0.00%
$15.99	15,048	0.31%	0.00%
$16.99	15,156	0.31%	0.00%
$17.99	7,379	0.15%	0.01%
$18.99	8,059	0.17%	0.00%
$19.99	17,232	0.35%	0.00%
$20.99	2,665	0.05%	0.00%
$21.99	2,927	0.06%	0.00%
$22.99	4,260	0.09%	0.00%
$23.99	5,211	0.11%	0.00%
$24.99	11,000	0.23%	0.00%

—

10/1/2016
Total	4,790,218
Prime	4,499,991
Under $10	3,881,084
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$0.99	588,648	12.29%	-0.18%
$1.99	224,653	4.69%	0.33%
$2.99	875,028	18.27%	-0.32%
$3.99	354,048	7.39%	-0.13%
$4.99	266,028	5.55%	-0.01%
$5.99	135,815	2.84%	-0.09%
$6.99	89,542	1.87%	0.01%
$7.99	123,897	2.59%	0.00%
$8.99	70,532	1.47%	0.01%
$9.99	352,365	7.36%	0.00%
$10.99	31,758	0.66%	0.00%
$11.99	42,922	0.90%	-0.01%
$12.99	33,394	0.70%	0.03%
$13.99	22,477	0.47%	0.01%
$14.99	39,529	0.83%	0.02%
$15.99	14,933	0.31%	0.01%
$16.99	14,867	0.31%	0.00%
$17.99	7,003	0.15%	0.00%
$18.99	7,829	0.16%	0.01%
$19.99	16,983	0.35%	0.01%
$20.99	2,639	0.06%	0.00%
$21.99	2,752	0.06%	0.00%
$22.99	4,276	0.09%	0.00%
$23.99	5,206	0.11%	0.01%
$24.99	10,825	0.23%	0.00%

—

8/1/2016
Total 4,673,290
Prime 4,441,416
Under $10 3,800,960

Price Point Count Percentage Diff
$0.99 564,512 12.08% 0.03%
$1.99 215,983 4.62% 0.03%
$2.99 865,582 18.52% 0.02%
$3.99 357,735 7.65% 0.02%
$4.99 258,868 5.54% 0.02%
$5.99 143,549 3.07% 0.02%
$6.99 86,956 1.86% 0.01%
$7.99 120,791 2.58% -0.03%
$8.99 67,036 1.43% 0.11%
$9.99 340,609 7.29% -0.01%
$10.99 31,839 0.68% -0.01%
$11.99 43,170 0.92% 0.10%
$12.99 28,881 0.62% 0.01%
$13.99 20,411 0.44% 0.03%
$14.99 38,284 0.82% -0.10%
$15.99 13,228 0.28% 0.02%
$16.99 14,674 0.31% -0.01%
$17.99 6,244 0.13% 0.01%
$18.99 7,055 0.15% 0.00%
$19.99 16,322 0.35% 0.02%
$20.99 2,484 0.05% 0.00%
$21.99 2,610 0.06% 0.01%
$22.99 4,466 0.10% 0.02%
$23.99 4,107 0.09% 0.00%
$24.99 10,627 0.23% 0.01%

---

9/1/2016
Total 4,742,587
Prime 4,470,630
Under $10 3,853,639

Price Point Count Percentage Diff
$0.99 591,306 12.47% 0.39%
$1.99 206,770 4.36% -0.26%
$2.99 881,283 18.58% 0.06%
$3.99 356,645 7.52% -0.13%
$4.99 263,638 5.56% 0.02%
$5.99 138,830 2.93% -0.14%
$6.99 88,366 1.86% 0.00%
$7.99 122,765 2.59% 0.00%
$8.99 69,196 1.46% 0.02%
$9.99 349,005 7.36% 0.07%
$10.99 31,536 0.66% -0.02%
$11.99 43,107 0.91% -0.01%
$12.99 31,596 0.67% 0.05%
$13.99 21,668 0.46% 0.02%
$14.99 38,116 0.80% -0.02%
$15.99 14,109 0.30% 0.01%
$16.99 14,584 0.31% -0.01%
$17.99 6,818 0.14% 0.01%
$18.99 7,355 0.16% 0.00%
$19.99 16,289 0.34% -0.01%
$20.99 2,559 0.05% 0.00%
$21.99 2,710 0.06% 0.00%
$22.99 4,298 0.09% 0.00%
$23.99 4,791 0.10% 0.01%
$24.99 10,719 0.23% 0.00%

8/1/2016
Total	4,606,532
Prime	4,361,423
Under $10	3,747,972
Price Point	Count	Percentage	Diff
$0.99	555,258	12.05%	0.04%
$1.99	211,667	4.59%	0.02%
$2.99	852,080	18.50%	-0.02%
$3.99	351,616	7.63%	0.04%
$4.99	254,338	5.52%	-0.02%
$5.99	140,421	3.05%	0.01%
$6.99	85,088	1.85%	-0.06%
$7.99	120,451	2.61%	0.10%
$8.99	61,016	1.32%	0.02%
$9.99	336,093	7.30%	-0.05%
$10.99	31,772	0.69%	-0.04%
$11.99	37,888	0.82%	0.00%
$12.99	28,219	0.61%	0.01%
$13.99	18,732	0.41%	0.00%
$14.99	42,554	0.92%	0.15%
$15.99	12,223	0.27%	0.00%
$16.99	15,085	0.33%	0.02%
$17.99	5,735	0.12%	0.00%
$18.99	6,838	0.15%	0.02%
$19.99	15,340	0.33%	-0.03%
$20.99	2,270	0.05%	0.00%
$21.99	2,272	0.05%	-0.01%
$22.99	3,487	0.08%	0.00%
$23.99	3,984	0.09%	0.00%
$24.99	9,788	0.21%	-0.01%

—

6/1/2016
Total	4,535,673
Prime	4,296,347
Under $10	3,678,896
Price Point	Count	Percentage
$0.99	544,905	12.01%
$1.99	207,658	4.58%
$2.99	839,809	18.52%
$3.99	344,572	7.60%
$4.99	251,410	5.54%
$5.99	137,958	3.04%
$6.99	86,573	1.91%
$7.99	114,012	2.51%
$8.99	59,121	1.30%
$9.99	333,073	7.34%
$10.99	32,897	0.73%
$11.99	37,424	0.83%
$12.99	27,483	0.61%
$13.99	18,472	0.41%
$14.99	35,286	0.78%
$15.99	12,056	0.27%
$16.99	13,744	0.30%
$17.99	5,738	0.13%
$18.99	5,941	0.13%
$19.99	16,299	0.36%
$20.99	2,239	0.05%
$21.99	2,661	0.06%
$22.99	3,561	0.08%
$23.99	4,103	0.09%
$24.99	9,940	0.22%

Older data were drawn using http://www.jungle-search.com, newer data with http://www.ereaderiq.com (from the same people). There are a number of possible sources of errors (eRi, Amazon, me), but these are probably pretty good.

• The free books referenced here are from the Kindle store: there are many other sources for free books
• My search for textbooks definitely has false positives (books that aren’t really textbooks). I search for -domain (to eliminate public domain titles, which would be older books, generally) textbook. That would find a book about textbooks, for example
• I searched for “Spanish edition” to find Spanish language books. That has some false positives as well
• I look at price percentages of books in the range of one penny to fifty dollars, to eliminate freebies and limit textbooks
• The price point analysis is for books at that specific price: it does not represent a range of prices
• I compared the percentage of price points in the Price Point Analysis when I showed the difference…not the number of books
• This information is based on what a United States customer sees

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

* I am linking to the same thing at the regular Amazon site, and at AmazonSmile. When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change whenever you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get. Shop ’til you help!

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other blogs/organizations, buy Amazon Gift Cards from a link on the site, then use those to buy your items. There will be no cost to you, and a benefit to them.

New! Pair your Echo device with your Fire TV…and get voice control

New! Pair your Echo device with your Fire TV…and get voice control

I was very excited to see this! People have wanted it since the

Fire TV family (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

was first released.

You can now control a Fire TV device (Stick or not) just by talking to your

Echo family (at AmazonSmile*)

(I’ll give you more of an idea of what works a bit later).

You can’t do everything, but you can do quite a bit.

I first found out about it when I asked our

Echo Dot (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

something this morning, and it said I wasn’t connected to a video source.

Then, I got an e-mail from Amazon, which was basically this

press release

In your Alexa app, go to the menu, and then Music, Video, & Books.

You’ll see a choice for FireTV and one for Dish (if you get Dish right now, there’s a deal where they will give you an Echo Dot).

If you have more than one FireTV, you can choose which one to do first. An Alexa device can only be paired to one Fire TV at a time (just like a Fire TV remote). If you want to change it later, you’ll have to first unlink it, then link it again (one which is already linked doesn’t show up as an option).

I was given a choice of all of these types:

• Original Echo (“The Tower)
• Tap
• Dot
• Echo Show
• Lexi (that’s an app)
• Dash Wand
• Amazon App (on iOS)

You can, by the way, have more than one Alexa device linked to the same Fire TV. So, you can have both your Echo Show and your Amazon App controlling the family room Fire. I can also see where two people with iPhones and no Echo device would want to have them both linked to the same Fire TV.

The linking was easy and ready to go right away.

Now, in terms of what it can do…

If you are talking about Amazon (not just Prime) Video, it’s good. I said, “Alexa, watch The Wizard of Oz”, and it started right away (that was a Prime video right now, so it didn’t have to stop to ask me if I wanted to buy it or rent it). Same thing with Orphan Black.

It did pause when I asked it to do that, and did fast forward. Amusingly, when I asked it to show me X-Ray (I meant the X-Ray feature of Amazon Video), it brought up a movie named “X-Ray” instead.

It also did understand categories: I asked for “science fiction movies”, and that worked. However, again, it didn’t limit it to Prime video…I’d prefer that, and maybe it’s an option, but I haven’t tested that yet.

Oh, another interesting thing: it did not show me my commands in the Alexa app home, which it normally does for conversations.

Another misfire: I asked it to “play Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, since the movie was in the top banner on the screen, and it thought I wanted the music so offered to play me a sample. I think “watch” is going to work better than “play”.

It will also open an app (I tested Hulu and YouTube), but it couldn’t find a show in Hulu.

Bottom line: it works better with Prime Video.

If you do have a

All-New Element 43-Inch 4K Ultra HD Smart LED TV – Fire TV Edition (at AmazonSmile*)

you can ask it to “Tune to NBC”, for example. You can also turn it on and change the volume.

Does all this mean you don’t need a remote?

Nope.

Once I open Hulu, for example, I’ll need my remote to pick something. If you don’t have the actual TV, you won’t be able to control the volume. Still, this is cool. 🙂

As you play around with it, let me know if you have discoveries and/or questions.

One last thing…

I don’t have one, but I’ve been hearing about the

The Spot Outlet Wall Mount (at AmazonSmile*)

Seems like it would work well for this, although it would also work in the kitchen and other places. It mounts your Dot right on an outlet…you don’t have to screw it into the wall or anything. It has a 4.5 average out of 5 stars, with 135 customer reviews at the time of writing; that’s quite good. It’s $13.99 at time of writing.

This is once again Amazon giving us something more at no additional cost…its one of the reasons I caution people about judging an Amazon device when it is first released based on its capabilities and content at that time.

Thanks, Amazon!

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get. Shop ’til you help! 🙂 

September 2017 is coming: what devices have been around the longest?

September 2017 is coming: what devices have been around the longest?

September is about a month away, and Amazon has often announced new hardware in that month.

Last year, I looked at the current Amazon hardware shortly before that, to give my opinions on which ones I thought might be updated.

Let’s do that again. 🙂

Kindle EBRs (E-Book Readers)

All-New Kindle E-reader – Black, 6″ Glare-Free Touchscreen Display, Wi-Fi – Includes Special Offers (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*) $79.99

The most recent edition is from  June of last year, and that’s when they added Bluetooth. They could update that, but they could also just lower the price. That’s a question for me at this point: do they really need four models of EBR now, and do the price points make sense? If the Paperwhite comes down $20 to get under $100, I don’t think they need two between $50 and $100. An under $50 Kindle could be attractive…I’m not seeing $80 as a good price point. I also think that EBRs are in competition with the Fire tablet line…it’s not the same experience, but I think many people are fine with reading on a backlit tablet, rather than having a dedicated reading device.

All-New Kindle Paperwhite, 6″ High-Resolution Display (300 ppi) with Built-in Light, Wi-Fi – Includes Special Offers (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*) $119.99

It’s been more than two years since they updated this one. If someone wanted to buy a Kindle who had never owned one, this is still the one I’d recommend. The frontlighting makes it worth more money than the entry level model. I don’t find that the upgrades to the Voyage are worth the money for most people. If they wanted to update it and keep the price about the same, they could add Bluetooth and water-proofing. I could even see the price going up a bit.

Kindle Voyage (any configuration) (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*) $199.99

Last updated in 2014. There are 12,972 customer reviews at time of writing. The Paperwhite has 47,415. Now, yes, the Paperwhite has been around longer, but I don’t sense the customer engagement with the Voyage. Could they simply drop this model? Maybe. They could also just leave it alone, maybe lowering the price, but I don’t see them doing much development on this.

The Oasis $289.99 (I’m not linking because it can’t be purchased without an animal leather cover)

This top of the line model came out in April of 2016. I’ve seen some very positive reaction to it, but a 4.2 star average isn’t exceptional (the Paperwhite has a 4.5). I don’t see them dropping this model: it’s good to have an EBR positioned as a luxury item. They could even update this one.

I could see this ending up with three promoted models (and maybe a dormant one): one for under $50, one for about $100, and one for well over $250.

Fire Tablets

Fire Tablets (at AmazonSmile*)

The Fire tablets were already updated this year. I don’t expect to hear much about this, unless they introduce a high end with something innovative.

Echo Family

Echo family (at AmazonSmile*)

We use our

Echo Show (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

every day. It’s even going to enable us to take a family member with mobility issues to a wedding…not for the ceremony itself, but at the social events around it. It will mean that people can walk up and talk to my relative, and our relative will be able to see what’s going on. I suspect that will be confusing for people at first, because they probably won’t realize our relative sees them. 🙂

I don’t expect that or the Dot (it’s doing too well) or the Look (I don’t think it’s gotten enough engagement) to be updated. The Tap is already off the family stripe (what the show you at the top of a strategy)…I use ours a lot (taking it to work with me), but I don’t think it’s been a hit, unfortunately.

As to the original

Amazon Echo (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

which I call “The Tower”, I think it is due.

That’s partially to deal with Apple’s device, so that would mean smaller and with better sound. It doesn’t mean cheaper, although it certainly could. My intuition is that people wouldn’t mind losing the big Tower design…I suppose they could also introduce one which is intermediate to the “hockey puck” Dot and The Tower.

I think there is still a lot of software innovation to come: one thing would be the ability of Alexa to recognize individual voices. In our house, for example, that might mean giving me the temperature in Celsius and my Significant Other the temperature in Fahrenheit, for example. That could also serve as one alternative for “password protecting” purchases (with an option for a number, when your voice isn’t recognized).

In terms of new Alexa devices:

I like the Dash Wand, but don’t use it that much.

A ring, a watch, a key fob…I could see a lot options for a tiny Alexa device (without “always on” technology).

An Alexa specifically for the car would make sense.

Fire TV

Fire TV family (at AmazonSmile*)

I do think these could see a significant upgrade…in addition to recent integrated Fire TV in a television (as opposed to the add on box or stick).

Our Fire TV, interestingly, could use more power. We recently got DirecTV HBO as part of our phone package, so I added that app…and it does seem to be pushing the limits of the device.

Other possibilities:

• They are doing more branded phone deals, and I think that will continue, with Alexa onboard being the draw. I do still want a fully functional Alexa app for my existing SmartPhones (Galaxy for my personal phone, iPhone for work)
• I expect Amazon to get into virtual/augmented reality in a really noticeable way this year, and there could be an announcement around that. I’ve started referring to virtual/augmented reality hardware as “auggies”. I’m not saying Amazon would produce a branded headset, but something…that might also wait for closer to the holidays, though
• It wouldn’t surprise me to see Amazon get into Amazon branded SmartHome devices (plugs, lightbulbs), and perhaps a hub

I have some other thoughts, but I’m interested in what you think. If Amazon introduces new branded hardware in September or August, what would you guess? Do you think they’d keep the Voyage and drop the Paperwhite? Is the Tap on the way out? Are recent unavailabilities of some devices a sign that they are being replaced? Feel free to tell me and my readers what you think by commenting on this post.

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get. Shop ’til you help! 🙂 

Amazon’s Q2 2017 Financials: Okay, investors, I get it this time

Amazon’s Q2 2017 Financials: Okay, investors, I get it this time

Amazon just released their 2017 2nd quarter financials, and investors didn’t like it, dropping the stock 3.68% in a day:

CNN Money graph

Investors never seem to like what Amazon has to say (although the stock has gone up 39.49% this year). Well, they don’t like these Amazon financial reports generally at least, and not being a stock expert, that sometimes baffles me.

This time, though, I get it.

For one thing, Amazon is predicting a possible $400 million loss in the 3rd quarter (although it could also be up to a $300 million gain). I would assume that big a range of prediction isn’t attractive (“You’ll either win the race…or end up in the hospital” 😉 ), but it’s also a potentially big loss even without the range.

There were also these (not forwarding looking, but retrospective) results:

“Operating income decreased 51% to $628 million in the second quarter, compared with operating income of $1.3 billion in second quarter 2016.

Net income was $197 million in the second quarter, or $0.40 per diluted share, compared with net income of $857 million, or $1.78 per diluted share, in second quarter 2016.”

So, I can see how someone looking for steady gains would find this scary.

I can also tell you, I’m not going to just say everything is rosy and the investors are just getting  it all wrong.

However…

This is what Amazon does. It invests in the future (and in its customers) and looks long term.

If you want it to be a profit machine, that’s your mistake. 🙂

It’s worth noting that they did not include the proposed Whole Foods purchase in these calculations…while it still seems likely, it hasn’t happened yet and has been seeing some challenges.

One commentator noted that if it happened right now and all at once, it would pretty much wipe out their cash on hand.

If it does go through and Amazon does make it a success (again, I consider both of those likely), it will be a profit maker…which Amazon will then spend on some other future feature.

Prime Day (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

was giant, having unprecedented sales…but that, of course, actually hurts the bottom line (by selling a lot of things for relatively little money).

They did sign up a gazillion (they don’t give us precise numbers, and that’s my word, not theirs)

Amazon Prime (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

members…which is another big investment in the future.

You just have to accept that Amazon isn’t like a snake swallowing a rabbit, taking time to digest it, and then getting bigger as a result. It’s like a filter feeding  whale shark…it may even stay stationary as it sucks in nutrients, and things flow through it.

Interestingly, they did mention e-books and physical books this time, and they don’t always.

One comment was about the physical bookstores…although it touted their ability to let people interact with Echo devices. 😉 There are eight Amazon bookstores open now, with five more in the works (including one near me).

Another thing they mentioned was the growth of subsers (subscription services), specifically mentioning e-books, which means

Kindle Unlimited (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

I don’t think they count Prime Reading as a separate subser.

The growth rate was 53% year over year for subsers, which is a good sign. Amazon does spend to improve subsers, but with any subscription (a gym membership, for example), you are paying for potential. Part of how it works is that most people don’t use more of the service than it costs…although some do, and some use a lot less.

With Amazon, there’s also the whole thing of inspired sales. You can lose money on one thing, if it gets that person to spend more money on something else. As I’ve said before (and as a former brick-and-mortar store manager) that customers tend to look at each transaction, and the businesses look at the entire set of transactions.

Something that reasonably concerned some people was that the growth of AWS (Amazon Web Services), which can really be considered Amazon’s core business now, was slower. It was still there, though.

I expect that we’ll see that Amazon has invested in VAM (Virtual/Augmented/Merged/Mixed Reality) this year, and that the second half of the year will still be building (which they are always doing). The Whole Foods acquisition, if it goes through, will also mean a lot of investment.

I’ll look forward to hearing comments from some of my readers…they often have insightful takes on Amazon financials.

To help you out, here are some resources:

• Amazon press release
• Seeking Alpha transcript of the earnings call
• Amazon conference call and slides

Bonus story:

Verso Books

is having a 90% off sale on all of their e-books, today only, Friday July 28th. Worth checking it out…

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get. Shop ’til you help! 🙂 

Wednesday July 26th: KDD is “Up to 80% off select award-winning titles on Kindle”

Wednesday July 26th: KDD is “Up to 80% off select award-winning titles on Kindle”

Today’s

Kindle Daily Deal (at AmazonSmile…benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

is another great selection!

Now, I do want to stress that I am posting this relatively late in the day (my apologies…had some family things). This sale is for Wednesday, July 26th Pacific Time…you may not see it until Thursday. The prices may also not apply in your country, so as always, check the price before you click/tap/eye gaze that Buy button.

You can buy these at the discounted price, and then delay the delivery of a gift item, or even send it to yourself so you can print it out and give it whenever you want.

Titles include:

• Life of Pi by Yann Martel | 4.4 stars out of 5 | 6,861 customer reviews | major movie adaptation| $2.99
• A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
• Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
• The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction)
• Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson
• Blood and Money by Thomas Thompson
• Lion (basis of the movie) by Saroo Brierley
• The Round House by Louise Erdrich (National Book Award)
• Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (Newbery Medal)
• The Association of Small Bombs by Karan Mahajan
• The Color of Water by James McBride
• Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai
• Wild at Heart by John Eldredge
• Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (Pulitzer Prize)
• Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates
• Blindness by Jose Saramago (Nobel Prize for Literature)
• Dragon’s Teeth by Upton Sinclair (Pulitzer Prize)
• Rain Dogs by Adrian McKinty (Edgar Award)
• Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King (Pulitzer Prize)
• Fortune Smiles by Adam Johnson (National Book Award)
• B*stard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison
• Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman (National Book Award)
• Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
• Arctic Dreams by Barry Lopez (National Book Award)
• Among Others by Jo Walton (Hugo Award Best Novel)
• March by Geraldine Brooks (Pulitzer Prize)
• A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly (Printz Honor)
• Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick (National Book Award finalist)
• A Small Death in Lisbon by Robert Wilson (Gold Dagger)
• Carolina Skeletons by David Stout (Edgar Award winner)
• Bearing the Cross by David J. Garrow (Pulitzer Prize)
• Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan (National Book Award)
• Imbeciles by Adam Cohen
• Small Island by Andrea Levy (Orange Prize)
• Hole in My Life by Jack Gantos
• The Confessions of Jack Tivoli by Andrew Sean Greer

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

* When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get. Shop ’til you help! 🙂 

What books should a robot read to learn morality?

What books should a robot read to learn morality?

Sometimes good is harder than best.

If it’s just a question of math, a computer can come up with the best answer more reliably than a human.

If, however, it’s a question of good as in good and evil, most people would say that a robot can’t make that decision.

They are going to have to do that in the future, though.

As robots (and by robots, I mean anything that does work that humans or animals used to do…that’s the origin of the word in the play R.U.R.) become more and more part of our lives, they will encounter more of the situations we do. They will be less in controlled, limited circumstances.

Let’s take the most obvious example: self-driving cars.

I consider it inappropriate to call them “driverless” cars. That’s inaccurate, and unnecessarily scary. There is a driver: not a human, carbon-based driver, but a silicon-based one. 😉

Does the robot need to figure out if it can make the green light? No problem. Eventually, we won’t even need traffic lights, when the cars are communicating with each other and recognizing that there are pedestrians who need to cross.

It can stay in the lane and avoid obstacles.

However…

Let’s suppose that the car loses its brakes…on a mountain road next to a cliff.

The light up ahead is red, and the crosswalk is full of people.

The car does a quick calculation. If it goes straight ahead, it will hit and kill at least five people.

It could also swerve off the cliff, killing just one person, its passenger.

I think if you ask most people what they would do if they were driving the car, they’d say drive off the cliff.

Would you get in a car that would make that same decision?

My guess is that most people would say no.

That’s part of the problem.

We don’t want our technology to be just as good as we are, we want it to be perfect. If a “phone dialer” dialed the wrong number once in a thousand times, we’d consider it unreliable, even though humans do it more often.

If you were just programming the car, you could program it to drive off the cliff.

Let’s complicate it.

Suppose there is a ten percent chance the car can make it so the passenger (we’ll start saying “you”) will survive and so will the people in the crosswalk. There’s a 90 percent chance if it tries it that the five people will die, and the passenger live.

What if it was a twenty-five percent chance?

Fifty-fifty?

Seventy-five percent chance it comes out fine?

Ninety percent chance everyone makes it…and ten percent chance they all die and you survive?

It’s just math, right?

Let’s back up and make an inevitable choice.

This time, there are five people in half of the crosswalk, and one person in the other half…the car can pick a lane, and kill one person or five.

We could program the car that killing fewer people is better than killing more people, right?

What if the five people are serial killers…and the one person is a four-year old child?

Does it matter if it’s a twenty-four year old instead of a four-year old? Five twelve-year olds versus a ninety-four year old?

There are too many variables to come up with just math.

Nowadays, the most advanced types of AI (Artificial Intelligence) aren’t programmed, anyway.

They use “machine learning”…in a sense, they learn by example.

AIs have figured out the rules of scissors/paper/rock just from watching videos.

There is an AI system at use in many public transit systems (we have had it in the San Francisco Bay Area)…at least, that used to be the case. It would watch videos of the station, and figure out normal patterns (on its own). When it saw something strange (such as someone jumping a turnstile, or being on “the wrong side of a fence”, both real examples), it would alert a human for an evaluation.

This

The Guardian article by English professor John Mullan

considers the idea of using fictional characters to teach robots morals, as is being tried. The above article references this

Georgia Tech article

I’m going to provide a brief excerpt from the Georgia Tech article (which is from February of 2016):

“Researchers Mark Riedl and Brent Harrison from the School of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology believe the answer lies in “Quixote” – to be unveiled at the AAAI-16 Conference in Phoenix, Ariz. (Feb. 12 – 17). Quixote teaches “value alignment” to robots by training them to read stories, learn acceptable sequences of events and understand successful ways to behave in human societies.”

When I read this this morning and flipped it into the

free ILMK magazine at Flipboard

it really got me thinking.

What would I have a robot read to learn morality? More interestingly to me, what would you have them read?

I need to set a few ground rules:

• Only fiction. Nothing that is non-fiction philosophy, no religious non-fiction (including the books which “define” the major religions)
• The works must have been originally published for humans to read, not created to teach robots morals
• You can not instruct the robot as to what is good or bad in the book…or even who the hero is. We will accept that the robot has an excellent understanding of English (or whatever language you are having it read), including subtleties like humor. Think of it as an intelligent human being, but one that is naive about morality

While I’d like a robot to think like Doc Savage (one of my fictional heroes), those books have a lot of bad behavior in them. Doc also has a self-sacrificing streak I don’t think I’d want to see in my robot…and what if the robot modeled itself after the relatively bloodthirsty Monk Mayfair? Monk “wins” as much as Doc does, although Doc is more respected by others. I’m guessing that’s part of how a robot would learn, by judging the reactions of other characters to determine what is a good thing to do.

To Kill a Mockingbird (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

is a possibility…assuming that the robot would look to Atticus Finch for guidance. Atticus isn’t perfect, but I’m not looking for perfect. Atticus also isn’t the main character, and it would be much trickier if the robot also read

Go Set a Watchman (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

Hm…this is harder than I would have first thought.

Sherlock Holmes? Maybe if it chose Watson as the model, but not Holmes, certainly.

How about Lassie Come Home by Eric Knight? Maybe…

Clearly, I have to think about this more.

What do you think? What would you want a robot to read to learn morals? Is that the right way for a robot to learn what’s right and wrong to mold its behavior? Are Asimov’s 3 Laws of Robotics good enough…even though they were imperfect in Asimov’s own works? Would you accept imperfect morality in a robot, that it might rarely make a bad choice, one that humans would see as more evil than good? Feel free to tell me and my readers what you think by commenting on this post.

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

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* When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get. Shop ’til you help! 🙂 

Original Echo $50 off 1-day sale (Monday July 24 Pacific)

Original Echo $50 off 1-day sale (Monday July 24 Pacific)

The original

Amazon Echo (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

(“The Tower”) is $129.99 today, $50 off the normal price of $179.99. It says that’s today only, Monday, July 24th, Pacific time.

Both the black and the white are on sale, although neither is in stock right now. The black one is expected in stock on August 11th, and the white one on August 16th (although they might beat that).

That’s the only model on this one day sale, although there are some other deals.

The

Echo Show (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

still has the buy 2, save $100 deal (which I now wish we had done), and the

the All-New Echo Dot (2nd Generation) – White (at AmazonSmile: benefit a non-profit of your choice by shopping*)

lets you save $20 when you buy three of them.

People ask if this means a new model is coming…in this case, I think it might. Amazon may want to improve the sound quality to compete with Apple’s home Siri, when they are emphasizing the sound quality.

As always, check the price before you click/tap/eye gaze that Buy button…the price may not apply in your country, and the sale may be over before you see this.

Join thousands of readers and try the free ILMK magazine at Flipboard!

All aboard The Measured Circle’s Geek Time Trip at The History Project!

When you shop at AmazonSmile, half a percent of your purchase price on eligible items goes to a non-profit you choose. It will feel just like shopping at Amazon: you’ll be using your same account. The one thing for you that is different is that you pick a non-profit the first time you go (which you can change you want)…and the good feeling you’ll get. Shop ’til you help! 🙂