Kindle Cost Savings Analysis Update: Reflecting the $259 Price Tag

The Amazon Kindle 2 was lowered in price a while back and I am finally updating my cost savings analysis to reflect the "new" $259 price tag. As I mentioned in the previous cost savings analysis, there are plenty of other non-tangible reasons to purchase a Kindle (or any e-reader) including wasting less paper, convenience of book access, and size. I created a spreadsheet that can be easily modified to book reading preference which will illustrate some rudimentary cost savings with some basic assumptions. The previous Kindle cost savings analysis can be found here.

Photo courtesy of Kindle 2.0 product page

Cost Savings Analysis One:
Assumptions:

Hardbacks purchased at Amazon
List price: $27.95
Hard Back discount: 40%
Kindle 2.0 start up cost: $259.00
Equivalent Kindle book price: $9.99
Shipping cost: $3.99
Break even point (without shipping): 15 books (previously 53)
Break even point (with shipping): 12 books (previously 34)

Cost Savings Analysis Two

Assumptions:
Paperbacks purchased at Amazon
List price: $7.99
Kindle 2.0 start up cost: $259.00
Equivalent Kindle book price: $6.39
Shipping cost: $3.99
Break even point (without shipping): 47 books (previously 65)
Break even point (with shipping): 162 books (previously 255)

One thing to keep in mind is the numbers proposed should be considered averages or assumptions. Obviously, it also depends on book buying patterns. I, for one, rarely buy hardback books. I may work on my spreadsheet more if I have nothing better to do than create Excel formulas that would project semi-random purchases of hardbacks (or paperbacks).

Food for thought.

As a side note, AMZN stock is currently at $133.52, thus my hypothetical investment would have yielded me a net profit of $8,512 so far.

Good reading,

Plants and Books

The Amazing Avatar

If you haven't seen Avatar yet, I don't even want to know you. I took off work Friday morning and went and saw it with my wife. We went to the 3D version; but not the IMAX version. My wife tends to feel a little sick at certain movies with a lot of camera movement (i.e. Terminator Salvation) so went to the 3D version only. I'll probably go back someday (soon) and check out the IMAX on my own.

Needless to say, Avatar was an amazing experience. It almost lived up to the epic trailer; and, had the trailer been only slightly less epic the movie would have exceeded my expectations. As it stands, Avatar met my expectations in every single way.

The Colonel was classic in his warmongering ways and his dialogue was priceless. He was easily my favorite character. The main characters associated with the Avatar program were all believable and well done. The world building was nothing short of incredible.

If you haven't seen Avatar yet, you are doing yourself an injustice. My wife loved it and she typically is not a fan of the science fiction/fantasy genres. After the movie ended I started thinking about the entire world of Pandora and the wealth of storytelling that could occur. There could easily be a great, long running science fiction/fantasy fiction series with the world and the cultures. I wish it was...

Good viewing,

Plants and Books

Most Epic Movie Ever?

If, somehow, the upcoming movie Avatar bombs in the box office, it will still have had the most epic movie trailer... ever.

Good viewing,

Plants and Books

Review: A History of Violence by John Wagner

Title: A History of Violence
Writer: John Wagner
Illustrator: Vince Locke
Copyright: 2004
Publisher: Vertigo
ISBN: 1563893673



Amazon|Borders|B&N

Some of the Best Illustrations and a Great Story Line - 4 stars - a book review

A History of Violence is one of the most provocative graphic novels I have read recently. Vince Locke's illustrations are edgy, raw, and unrefined; which adds to the overall feel of the story. It is a gritty story and the hard black and white ink reinforces the chaos and unpredictability of the characters. Some of the shining moments are the large panels simply looking out over the town or a horizon with looming darkness spreading.

The storyline is perfectly articulated, starting with the murder of two people in the opening page. From this first page the reader can tell that all bets are off and anything goes. As the main characters (Tom McKenna) past comes out it becomes more and more obvious that the ending will only come after much bloodshed and violence. A History of Violence reads like an excellent crime book, with supplementary pictures that enhance the experience.

A History of Violence is one of those gems in the graphic novel medium that can almost be told without the commentary and text; the illustrations, while basic black and white, are that good.

The only drawback of A History of Violence is the fact that the story, while excellent, could have been even bigger and better. The resolution comes way too soon and with the capability to convey such an excellent chain of events through words and graphics it is almost squandered. I would have loved to have had twice as much story. Make no mistake, A History of Violence is not to be missed.


Good reading,

Plants and Books

Plants and Books in Print?!

I had an interesting conversation with one of the students at the university I work for today. She was telling me about how she was talking to some guy she knows that reviews movies for a newspaper (I'm not sure which) and that they were looking for someone to review books for the paper. The student mentioned my name and give him my email address; so she told me I should be expecting an email in the near future. It was pretty exciting, but I wonder if my reading interests will jive with what the paper is looking to review; since, shamefully, fantasy/science fiction isn't as mainstream as we all know it should be.

On a side note, I think I just broke the 20,000 page mark for total pages read since January 1. A few stats:

• 59 books read (or are in the process of reading);
• Average book size: 355 pages;
• Average duration of time to complete a book: 5.95 days;
• Average pages read per day: 69.45; and,
• Percentage of reviews requested (either by Amazon Vine or publisher/author request): 44.07%

Maybe I'll see you in the papers!

Good reading,

Plants and Books

Riding Again on the Winds of Time

So the twelfth volume of Robert Jordan's epic fantasy masterpiece was released this past Tuesday, with the previous installment having been released four years ago, and the first volume published in 1990. I am about a third of the way through the book, and I already have to say that it is everything I dreamed and more.

I went to the bookstore on Tuesday over the lunch hour (I almost forgot that it came out that day!) and walking in greeted by a huge display case of The Gathering Storm books and other associated Wheel of Time books put me grinning like a child on Christmas. I decided not to take the afternoon off of work to pound through the book and opted to just enjoy the book like any other, taking it at a pace that was satisfying; although there have been times I haven't wanted to put it down.

I got home and opened The Gathering Storm and saw the familiar font... I haven't felt that great in a long time. Although portions of the book were written by Brandon Sanderson it is hard to see where the author voice changes. The style is very similar to Robert Jordan's and the story pacing so far is miraculous. I can already tell that this volume will be one of the best in recent times and many of the plot lines that had slowed in the past few books are definitely coming to an end (or at least making dramatic progress). The Dark One is definitely getting a stronger hold on reality as his prison weakens.

I'm hoping that there is some serious ta'veren weaving and pulling that occurs in this book, bringing characters together for events that seem to happen just by happenstance; something the first several books had all the time, creating scenes that were near magical. I have not read any Mat Cauthon chapters yet, and I hope that one of my most anticipated plot lines gets some progress; that being the Aelfinn and Eelfinn and Moraine. However, due to the fact that the next book is tentatively called Towers of Midnight I assume the the Tower of Genji and the White Tower plot lines will be resolved in that book.


Anyways... Was it worth the wait? Absolutely. Will it be "the one book to rule them all"? It just might be, but I'm thinking the next one is going to be even better.

Stay tuned for the review; I image I will finish by the end of the weekend at the latest.

Good reading,

Plants and Books

Amazon Stocks Through the Roof

For those of you have been following this blog, you'll remember back in January when I suggested to invest in Amazon stock (this was right around the time that Amazon was making a big announcement, which many correctly assumed would be about the Kindle 2.0). At the time, Amazon stock (AMZ) was trading at $48.40 per share. For the past month or two the price has been hovering around the high eighties/low nineties. I checked today, and Amazon stock is trading for $124.63!


That means my hypothetical investment of $4,840 would now be worth $12,463! I net gain of $7,626... Getting close to twice my initial(hypothetical) investment. I can only imagine that it will continue to go up with the holiday seasons coming up. However, the recent announcement of the Barnes and Noble Nook (the B&N electronic reader) it will be interesting to follow along the success/shortcomings of each business venture.

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Good investing,

Plants and Books