Kindle 2 is here!

The wait is finally over. Kindle 2.0 is currently in stock and is only $259 with FREE shipping.

Last year, Oprah called the Kindle one of her favorite gadgets, and now it’s new and improved with a longer battery life, a sleeker design, and more enhancements.
The new Kindle 2 is as thin as a magazine and lighter than a paperback, yet it holds more than 1500 books! (That means the new Kindle 2 has 7 times more storage than the original Kindle.)

The Kindel 2 also has faster page turns and a longer battery life along with an advanced display for clearer text and images. You can read in sunlight with no glare, and Kindle 2 will even read to you. This Text-to-Speech feature works with books, blogs, magazines, and newspapers.

This new Kindle still has all the things that everyone loved about the original wireless reading device – the convenience of reading what you want when you want it. (You can get a book delivered wirelessly in less than one minute with no PC required, and you won’t have any wireless bills. No data plans or commitments.)

The Kindle store at amazon now has more than 230,000 titles available. Prices of each title varies, but most are quite low. Most New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases, for example, are just $9.99.

With all of these improvements over the previous version of Kindle, the price has stayed the same. If you’re an avid reader, you want one of these gadgets. Just $259 and it ships free. Click here to learn more >

You can also get a used (and new) versions of the original Kindle. Prices fluctuate. Click here for today’s best price on the original Kindle at amazon.

I can’t remember where I picked up my first copy of Ode Magazine. I actually think I was drawn in by the subtitle: “For Intelligent Optimists.” I guess I like to think that this describes me.

We have subscribed to the print publication for a couple of years, and my husband and I have both been impressed with each issue. It’s actually the only magazine that we both read, and it never fails to spark some great and meaningful discussions between the two of us – and with our kids, too.

Ode magazine is unique in that it aims to spotlight the ideas and the people who are changing the world. The magazine brings news about positive social and economic change, covering everything from politics and finances to environmental/energy issues as well as social and consumer issues.

The tone of the magazine is refreshing and simple, even inspiring -  and the writing is exceptional.  Author Paulo Coelho (perhaps best known for his book The Alchemist) is a monthly columnist and never disappoints. And Juriaan Kamp’s Letter from the Editor is always insightful. Here’s a quote from the January/February 2009 issue in which Kamp is explaining why they chose the name Ode for the magazine: “Ode isn’t just a magazine,” Kamp writes. “We stand for the celebration of life. We cherish beauty, joy, friendship and love. We look for possibilities and opportunities. We want to make things cleaner, greener, healthier, more just and sustainable—and more fun.”

I enjoy Ode for the way it expands my perception to be more global in scope – as well as for the way it helps me to focus on the good. It does quite a bit to help me realize, after tuning in to more mainstream media outlets, that maybe the world is going to be okay, after all. That there are lots of good people doing lots of good things all over the world, all the time. And it inspires me to learn about and be a part of that movement myself. I guess you could say that it brings out the intelligent optimist in me.

Ode also has an online component with an active community of readers that communicate and socialize about the issues. Take a few minutes to check out the website: OdeMagazine.com

At the site, you can subscribe for free to Ode’s Weekly Digest – a weekly update on featured articles from the magazines as well as ideas from the online community.

They have also just launched a Daily e-newsletter, which brings you a brief summary of the positive stories that are being reported around the world.

OdeMagazine.com
Ode Magazine’s Newsletters
Become a fan of Ode Magazine on Facebook
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Every now and then something comes across my desk that is so perfectly aligned with my mission and the way that I seek to live my life that I simply can’t wait to tell you about it.

Seeing the Everyday is one such magazine. It is a quarterly ad-free publication that is nothing short of gorgeous.

The magazine’s website describes it this way: “Seeing the Everyday is dedicated to revealing the power and importance of the seemingly small moments of life.”

The entire package – from the writing to the photography to the design – is beautiful in its simplicity, just as is a home life that is well tended and a life that is well lived.

This magazine has a permanent home on my coffee table. It leaves you with a greater sense of reverence for family and those little moments that make up your life. It is a beautiful reminder of the way in which the smallest everyday moments and everyday choices with our children and with our spouse add up to being the most important things we will ever do.

Visit the site for a PDF sample or to subscribe >

Just as when you are starting any kind of business, building a business on the Internet takes a great deal of persistence, hard work, and know-how, and the “business opportunity” genre online is so clogged with scams and get-rich-quick schemes that it can be really hard for anyone to know where to start and whom to trust.

Here I want to share some resources that I would recommend to anyone getting started with an online business, depending on your experience level going in:

1. How Any Woman Can Learn to Make Money on the Internet,  by Kathy Wilson

If you have always wanted to run your own online business, but you don’t know your PPCs from your PDFs, this book can provide the basics for you.

Toward the beginning of the book, you’ll find a rundown of common Internet terminology so you can get an overview of what you’ll be learning about, and you’ll have a good glossary to refer to as you progress through the book.

The book covers how to choose the topic of your online business (with a number of sample ideas.) The book also covers the business details (such as licensing, accounting, taxes and taxes) as well as how to build your online business and how to promote it on a shoestring.

At 105 pages, How Any Woman Can Learn to Make Money on the Internet is a good basic guide that can get you started on the right path, and the price is just right for people just starting out.

Price: We’ve arranged so Momscape visitors get 25% off, bringing the price of the book to $24.95. Click here for details.

Format: PDF – available for instant download

2. The Super Affiliate Handbook: How I made $436,797 in one year selling other People’s Stuff, by Rosalind Gardner

If you have a basic understanding of your computer and the Internet, as well as the different revenue streams that are possible with an Internet business, you would be well served by going for something a bit more comprehensive. You might want to start with Wilson’s book, above, and consider adding this to your library as your experience grows. (Wilson also recommends Gardner’s book in her ebook.)

For anyone who is serious about increasing revenue online through affiliate marketing, Gardner’s guide is an absolute must-have. I bought the PDF years ago at full price (twice what it is today) and even that proved to be a bargain. I refer to it often and it has paid for itself many, many times over.

Gardner knows of what she speaks. She has been one of the Internet’s most successful affiliate marketers for years.

Price: $47 (at the time of this writing). Click here for details.

Format: PDF – available for instant download

3. Home Based Working Moms

Home-Based Working Moms (HBWM) is an online community and professional organization that provides support, networking, advertising options, information, as well as a monthly newsletter and other member benefits.

HBWM does not provide jobs, but is a reputable group for those of us who are working from home. It’s nice to network with others who share your goals and vision.
You may have heard about them through the eDirectory of Home Based Careers (which is similar to a national yellow pages of home based careers, and it’s free. You can download it here.

Learn more about Home Based Working Moms here.

I’ll keep adding resources here as I come across those that I think you can benefit from.

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David Wroblewski is a master storyteller, and his breathtaking scenes- the elemental north woods, the sweep of seasons, an iconic American barn, a fateful vision rendered in the falling rain-create a riveting family saga, a brilliant exploration of the limits of language, and a compulsively readable modern classic.
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