Top Selling Books in Canada

Starting with Life of Pi, which is a novel about young boys, find the top selling books in Canada below, which is comprised of old favorites and new discoveries. The selections compiled here are based on Amazon’s top selling Canadian books.

1. Life of Pi by Yann Martel

This is a novel that will take you to a small community in India to the middle of the Pacific Ocean where a boy and a tiger has been trapped in a lifeboat, which eventually led to a special kind of friendship.
Yann Martel wrote a wonderful story of survival that explores every angle of human nature in the middle of adversity. The author ended the story with an exciting twist that you can never put down, leaving you feeling good long after you have finished reading the book.

2. How to Be a Canadian (Even if You Already Are One) by Will and Ian Ferguson

“There is the assumption that Canada has only two seasons: Winter and not winter. In fact, Canada has no fewer than six distinct seasons: Tax; Hockey; More hockeys; Still more hockeys; summer (also known as the July long weekend); and finally Good God, isn’t the Hockey Season over by now?!”

More of this kind of humor is found on How to Be a Canadian (Even If You Already Are One). It ended with a funny quiz that evaluates your level of being a Canadian and concluded by an explanation from Ferguson why the perfect score is zero, which is: “So, you couldn’t even be bothered to do the damn quiz. Too much effort, eh? You just skipped to the end. Talk about slack. Talk about Canadian! Congratulations. You are now one of us.”

3. The Way the Crow Flies by Ann-Marie Macdonald

A well written and entertaining book that depicts the life of a real Canadian. The Way the Crow Flies is a tragic story that will remind us of the possible price that we will have to pay for lies and hiding secrets. It can take you into reading until 3 AM to learn how each of the events is going to end.

4. Shake Hands With The Devil by Romeo Dallaire

After a painful experience in Rwanda that led to Canadian General Dallaire’s attempt to commit suicide and post traumatic stress disorder, he came out to give talks and wrote this book to hopefully retrieve his soul. When he was asked how he could possibly believe in God after going through such experience, he replied “I know there is a God, because in Rwanda, I shook hands with the devil.”

Shake Hands with the Devil, is by far, one of the most interesting source about world events. It is a remarkable tale of a man who cares deeply about human life and denied numerous times of the support that could have prevented a tragedy.

5. Paris 1919: Six Months That Changed The World by Margaret MacMillan
Nobody can explain better than MacMillan how the Allies reorganized and changed the world after the First World War. She has placed a different perspective on the Paris Peace Conference that still affects our lives up to this day.

Additional Resources:
Kindle 3G Network in Canada
Kindle Gift Card Canada
Kindle Store Canada
Kindle Touch in Canada

Owning a Kindle Keyboard 3G Canada

I don’t think that it’s still necessary to discuss how Kindle or any other e-reader makes reading easy to all of us. E-Readers are here to stay and the only point of discussion is to determine which among the devices around would suit your need at reasonable cost.

I have been using the older version or should I say the cheaper version of Kindle for quite some time until my sister sent me this Kindle Keyboard 3G. It is slightly bigger than my old Kindle, but not too big to cause discomfort when I am reading from it while sitting on my lazy boy couch. It has the same display size but the texts are sharper with better contrast. The keyboard is a bit small which makes me accidentally press other keys around. But after two days, I was able to manage well with the keys that using it becomes second nature to me.

If you have your own Wi-Fi system at home and don’t travel a lot, it’s wiser to purchase Kindle Keyboard Wi-Fi. It is because Kindle Keyboard Wi-Fi is $50 cheaper and the device would instantly connect to Wi-Fi instead of using AT&T’s 3G network. Kindle 3G Canada uses AT&T’s cellular network only when there’s no Wi-Fi available. I have also observed that if it’s connected to Wi-Fi, it’s also a lot faster as compared to 3G’s connection.

In addition, in cases when you need to access your email or browse the Internet with the use of your Kindle, it will only do so through Wi-Fi signal.

Browsing the Internet is limited on Kindle Keyboard but it can. You cannot just expect that it will work as well as you would on IPad.

When you own a Kindle Keyboard, a Kindle email is assigned to you, which you can use to send your personal documents to Kindle. As long as the document is on .pdf, .doc, . jpeg, .gif or .png, it will automatically convert those files to Kindle format. But of course, the pictures are going to be on black and white, but it is definitely clear.

Accessing Gmail or Yahoo mail is also possible on Kindle keyboard. Although some people thought that they can’t access it in Canada, I believe that they just don’t know how to do it. Let me share here the steps.

How to Access Gmail or Yahoo Mail on Kindle Keyboard 3G Canada

1. Turn the wireless on.
2. Go to Home > Menu > Experimental
3. Select “Basic Web”
4. The Bookmark page appears. Enter http://m.gmail.com for gmail and http://m.yahoo.com for Yahoo mail on the “Enter URL” field.
5. Read your mail

That’s how easy it is. Kindle is considered a mobile device, and you will need to access Yahoo and Gmail’s mobile interface.
Before I end this, let me say this again. If you travel a lot, or there’s a need for you to carry Kindle on anywhere you go, get the Kindle Keyboard 3G to avoid the hassle of looking for Wi-Fi hotspots each time that you need to download an ebook.

Additional Resources:
Kindle Store Canada
Kindle 3G Network in Canada
Kindle Gift Card Canada
Kindle Touch in Canada

Buying a Kindle as a Gift

My sister, who is about to go to college, has posted her wish list on Facebook and among them is Kindle. I can perfectly understand why she would want a Kindle as a gift. First, most versions of Kindle can store as much as 3,500 eBooks with a size of a paperback novel and weighs less than 8 ounces. Even if the course material that she needs is not available as an eBook, she can always send a PDF file to Kindlewhich will be converted automatically to Kindle format.

Second, it is easier to read from Kindle than on iPad or notebooks. Kindle’s best feature is its e-Ink technology that removes glare from the screen so that reading becomes less strenuous.

Third, annotating anything on Kindle is also possible. Since Kindle also features Whispersync that synchronizes your reading activities to all your other devices, it’s perfect for researching. Whispersync records your bookmarks, the last page that you read, and all your annotations on cloud so that you can pick up the last thing that you read from your Android phone or MacBook.

Since my sister will have to take a bus when she goes to school, she could possibly need to take along a gadget that will let her read her course materials along the way. Kindle is a better option since it is easier to hold and read than opening her MacBook.

Kindle as a gift to college students actually makes a lot of sense.

How to Buy Kindle as a Gift

I currently live in Canada and my sister is in Pennsylvania. I am sending Kindle as a gift directly to her. The problem is when I purchase Kindle from Amazon’s website, it will automatically register that Kindle on my account and all purchases made through that Kindle interface is automatically credited on my account.

Is it possible to buy a Kindle as a gift?

I called their customer service and an agent guided me through the process. In just a few minutes, I was done with it.

Let me share it with you just in case that you are also thinking of buying Kindle as a gift.

1. If you are living in Canada or any other country outside the United States, go to Amazon.com, which is Amazon’s International site. Follow this link to send you straight to their International site.

2. Select the Kindle of your choice.

3. On the right panel of the screen, tick the box where it says “This will be a gift.”

Selecting the option “This will be a gift” ensures that the Kindle is not automatically registered on your Amazon account and the price will not appear on the packing slip. Any purchase made through that Kindle interface will not also be credited on your Amazon account.

Giving Kindle eBook as a Gift

You can always give Kindle eBook as a gift even if the recipient doesn’t have a Kindle for as long as she or he has a valid email address. Follow the steps below to give Kindle eBook as a gift.

1. Select an eBook from Amazon’s website. Under the “Buy” button located on the Product Details page, click on “Give as a Gift.”

2. Enter your recipient’s email address and enter a “Delivery Date.” It’s default is to be delivered immediately, so be sure to enter a delivery date.

3. Enter a message if you want which will be read by the recipient when she received the eBook from her or his mailbox.

4. Click on the “Place Your Order” button to complete the transaction.

Additional Resources:
Buying a Kindle as a Gift
Amazon Kindle
Kindle Gift Card Canada
Kindle Touch in Canada

Kindle Touch in Canada

I was heading to Musee du Fort to meet a friend and while waiting for my bus, I pulled out my Kindle Touch out of my side pocket and pressed the power button. With just a few taps, I started reading Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James, which I just downloaded before I left the house. I read for almost 10 minutes until my bus came. I pressed the power button and slipped it inside my bag.

Amazon has just shipped Kindle Touch in Canada a few weeks ago and I was one of the first customers who received it. I ordered the e-reader immediately when Amazon announced that they were ready to ship the Touch internationally.

With a device that’s as small as a paperback novel weighing 7.5 ounces only, my hands never get tired holding it even for 30 minutes or so. Downloading eBook is fast. Within a minute, the novel was right in my Kindle ready for me to start reading. Since Kindle Touch supports Wi-Fi connectivity, you can download an ebook anywhere that has Wi-Fi signal.

I’m okay with my Kindle Touch since I own a wireless router at home. But if you are traveling a lot, the Kindle Touch 3G should suit you perfectly. Its Internet connection comes from cellphone signals making it easier to download eBooksanytime and anywhere without paying for anything other than the cost of the eBook. Amazon pays for your Internet connection and that is their best selling point against their competition.

The key feature of Kindle Touch is its touch screen. But unlike other touch screens that require you to swipe it to move from one window to another, Kindle Touch works by tapping its screen. When you tap the left portion, you are moving the page backward. Tapping the center screen will get you to the next page and tapping the upper portion will bring up the menu.

Reading through Kindle will not cause a lot of strain on your eyes because of its e-Ink technology. Unlike reading from LCD screen, the e-Ink technology removes the glare on its screen making the text readable even under direct sunlight.

A single charge of the battery is supposed to last for 2 months with wireless off and 30 minutes per day of reading. I read for an average of 2.5 hours a day. I only browse through Amazon’s store for about 30 minutes in two weeks and the battery lasted for about 3 weeks.

What I really like about Kindle is its Whispersync. Any reading material that you purchase from Amazon is not exclusive to your Kindle. It’s a great technology that synchronizes the bookmarks and furthest page read among your devices. You can continue reading on your Mac notebook or any other device that you register on your account. Whispersync saves all your reading activities on cloud and it works perfectly.

For me, the best part of owning a Kindle is having a library of books and personal documents that I can carry along with me anywhere I go. With a Kindle Touch that’s retailed at US$ 139, it’s cheap as compared to its functionality.

Additional Resources:
Kindle Touch in Canada
Amazon Kindle
Kindle Store Canada