Free amusing Amazon book

[Clair]

It's not literature, but it's a book, it's amusing and it's free!

Free Country: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain

by George Mahood

Price: FREE from Apr 14 – 17, 2013

[quote]FREE COUNTRY: A Penniless Adventure the Length of Britain

The plan is simple. George and Ben have three weeks to cycle 1000

miles from the bottom of England to the top of Scotland. There’s just

one small problem… they have no bikes, no clothes, no food and no money.

Setting off in just a pair of Union Jack boxer shorts, they attempt to

rely on the generosity of the British public for everything from food to

accommodation, clothes to shoes, and bikes to beer.

During the most extraordinary of challenges, George and Ben scavenge

through rubbish bins, search for the Loch Ness monster, wash dishes,

clean hotels, sing Christmas carols for food, swim in lakes, descend

Cornish hills on children’s bikes and cook a barbecue for 30 old people

in a field. They spend the night in a greenhouse, a canal boat, a posh

hotel, an empty house, a pub, a tent in a car park and a barn with a

bull. Through the course of their hysterical journey they are clothed,

fed and sheltered by the generous people of Britain; from llama farmers

to onion farmers, students to lifeguards, a former rock-star to a former

hit-man… and Michael Eavis in a pair of hot-pants. They blaze a trail

of open doors and warm hospitality the length of this green and pleasant

land, proving that – both monetarily and opportunistically – Great

Britain is undoubtedly a Free Country.[/quote]

[soupagirl]

No it's not free. It's £10.99. Only free on Kindle. Unless I'm looking in the wrong place. Never mind.

[Clair]

[quote user="soupagirl"]No it's not free. It's £10.99. Only free on Kindle. Unless I'm looking in the wrong place. Never mind.[/quote]

You're right, it's a free Kindle book, but you don't need a Kindle to read it.

You can read it on your PC, laptop or tablet, using a free Kindle Reading app.

[Gardengirl]

I'd heard about this book a while back, and thought I'd take Clair's tip and 'buy' it for free on my kindle via this computer - nice tip, Clair - thanks [:)]

I've just had my very first problem with my account, although I know others have had problems with French/British downloads in the past. I download very few books in France in any case, and my Kindle was registered in England. First I read that I would be transferred to amazon.fr unless I changed my account to .co.uk - which it always has been registered with. Then I tried again and was told that

''we did not find a Kindle device or a reading app that supports this item registered to your Amazon account''

I wondered if there's something odd about this particular book. I'm off to try it direct from my Kindle next!

EDIT: just a few minutes later, and having written a quick email to a friend, the book has arrived on my Kindle. It doesn't resolve the problem of those odd messages![:(]

[suein56]

[quote user="Clair"]

You're right, it's a free Kindle book, but you don't need a Kindle to read it.

You can read it on your PC, laptop or tablet, using a free Kindle Reading app.

[/quote]

OK Clair now please bring me into the 21st century.

I have downloaded the Kindle reading app onto my ancient XP laptop, so now how do I add the free book ?

Bearing in mind I have no knowledge at all re Kindles ?

Sue

[Clair]

Suein56,

First, you'll need to log in to your preferred Amazon account, whether UK of FR.

Then, before you buy the Kindle book, you should see a drop-down menu under the Purchase button, giving you option of where the book will be downloaded.

As I have a Kindle app on my laptop, on my iPad and a Kindle reader, the drop-down menu offers offer all 3 options.

I prefer to download all my Kindle books purchases on my laptop, and only keep my current reading list (135+ books!) on the Kindle itself...

Once you have selected your laptop (under whatever name it shows on the list), click on the Purchase button.

The book should appear in your Kindle app screen. Double-click it to read it.

[suein56]

Clair: thank you for such clear and concise instructions BUT I am in a quandry as it seems my Kindle account is with Amazon.com. As I have only previously dealt with Amazon.fr and Amazon.co.uk I am at a loss. So, do I order the free download via .com or swap to .fr (the purchase option seems to be saying I should transfer to.fr) and I do not know which is best for me.

My instinct is to go for .fr but if I do is this going to change anything with my .co.uk account as I do order stuff  from the UK for both us in France and my children in the UK.

HELP !

Sue

[Clair]

Sue,

Your Kindle registration restricts only your Kindle book purchases.

I have an account with Amazon US, Amazon UK and Amazon FR, but as my Kindle is registered with my FR account, this means I can only buy Kindle books on Amazon FR.

[suein56]

Clair

Due to your help I successfully installed the Kindle ap and have now spent a happy hour reading the free book you drew our attention to and which started this thread.

The book is amusing but I find reading a Kindle page rather odd. There are no page numbers, which is slightly disconcerting. But I am confident I will become accustomed to it.

Many thanks, you are a star.

Sue

[Clair]

Some ebooks carry page numbers, chapter titles, some don't.

It's all down to how the ebook was formatted and the skill (interest?) of the person doing the formatting.

You can set bookmarks (under Tools in the toolbar).

Now that you have your Kindle app, you might be interested in downloading more free books... [;-)]

Try this website.

I get a daily email from them and I filter by selecting some topics only.

Almost all the books I find there are available on Amazon FR (and I assume on Amazon UK too).

Quality varies, but at least, they don't cost anything!

[suein56]

Brilliant, thanks; have had a quick look at the latest free list and downloaded [Www]a couple of books I think I might enjoy.

Some, on the other hand, looked downright scary.

Sue [:)]

[Clair]

Here is another free Kindle book which sounds good:

You've Gone Too Far This Time, Sir! [Format Kindle]

by Danny Bent

[quote]When Danny Bent cycled 15,000 kilometres from the UK to India to raise

money for ActionAid, it was a decision that took twenty years and one

minute. For twenty years he had wanted to do something to raise money

for charity. The one minute was when as their teacher he was put on the

spot by his pupils and declared that the means was by bike, and he was

going to India.

What he had signed up for was slogging along

roads with trucks bearing down on him, unable to see and choking in the

smog; shooting down treacherous descents with 100 foot drops, shaking

with cold and too numb to brake; muscle burn and saddle sores; delirium

and food poisoning; thirst and malnutrition; foul and insanitary

conditions; life-threatening crises; obstructive border guards, crazed

dogs and inquisitive passers-by.

'You've Gone Too Far This Time,

Sir!' is a real and compelling blow-by-blow account of Danny's trip

across Europe, the former Soviet Republics, Russia, China, Pakistan and

India.

And what people he met! They are the true delight of this

book, mostly charming, sometimes reckless, occasionally threatening,

always unpredictable, and forever inviting Danny to be up for the

challenge of entertaining them, in one instance by dancing in front of a

packed stadium, in another by eating sheep's brains in a local night

market.

Danny turns the wheels, you turn the pages. The pace is

relentless. The story is both heart-stopping and heart-warming. The

arrival is breakdown-and-cry emotional. And there's loads of fun and

wonderment along the way too.[/quote]