The free Cook's Illustrated book offered by Amazon ...

3693 Views 25 Replies 14 Participants Last post by Andra, Feb 18, 2009

mrspeach

Discussion Starter · Feb 11, 2009

Admin note: This is a free cookbook, available only on Kindle. It becomes available Feb 24, but you can pre-order now.

Links:
The Cook's Illustrated How-to-Cook Library: An illustrated step-by-step guide to Foolproof Cooking

Maybe a dumb question, but how would one navigate a cookbook on the Kindle? I love Cook's Illustrated, but would it be possible to look up recipes, go to categories, etc.? The only books I've gotten so far are straight-up ones that are to be read straight through, so am not quite sure how this would work. Can you click on a table of contents or index and go directly to that section?

See less See more

1 - 20 of 26 Posts

Mikuto

· #2 · Feb 11, 2009

Not a dumb question.

I don't have a cookbook on my Kindle so I can't say for sure, but I would think the best way to do it would be to have an extensive table of contents. So instead of chapters, you would click a recipe.

pidgeon92

· #3 · Feb 11, 2009

I'm not 100% certain that the Cook's Illustrated book is a recipe book. It might be one of their helpful kitchen hints books.

Mikuto

· #4 · Feb 11, 2009

pidgeon92 said:
I'm not 100% certain that the Cook's Illustrated book is a recipe book. It might be one of their helpful kitchen hints books.

As an addition, I'm not sure it's going to be free either. I got a trial issue of their magazine, and when I didn't want it I went through the steps to cancel, well they continued sending me magazines and bills until I finally found a way to get a hold of someone in customer service (first e-mailed, then called multiple times).

My guess is the price jumps when it's actually released. I'll be very surprised if it doesn't.

CS

· #5 · Feb 11, 2009

Mikuto said:
As an addition, I'm not sure it's going to be free either. I got a trial issue of their magazine, and when I didn't want it I went through the steps to cancel, well they continued sending me magazines and bills until I finally found a way to get a hold of someone in customer service (first e-mailed, then called multiple times).

My guess is the price jumps when it's actually released. I'll be very surprised if it doesn't.

But if you've already "purchased" it, they can't raise the price. Right?

Mikuto

· #6 · Feb 11, 2009

With most amazon.com items, you don't get charged until the item is shipped. I haven't preordered an ebook before but I think it's the same.

It's possible (though I'm just guessing at this point) that if you "purchase" it now, the price you're charged will be the price the book is when it's actually able to be delivered. Feel free to correct me on that, anyone who has preordered an ebook.

Xia

· #7 · Feb 12, 2009

I may be wrong, but I'm 99% sure that the amazon policy on all pre-orders, not just Kindle content, is that you will pay either the price it is when you clicked preorder or you will pay the price it is when it released, and you will charged whichever price is lower, not higher.

I found this book on the main page of Kindle store - and they were advertising it as 'Get this free cookbook for your Kindle' (not verbatim), which was why I posted it in the free book thread. It had its own banner/box thing advertising that it was a free pre-order. So, I'm quite sure it'll be free if you pre-order it now (but not if you pre-order/one-click after the price goes up (which it will, of course, and it could happen at any time).

I noticed that the release date for the book is the same as the one for the K2; so I think it is a promo tied into the K2 release.

Xia

· #8 · Feb 12, 2009

Oh, I think some pre-order items don't yet have a price listed. In which case you would be charged the price it is when it released.

Xia

· #9 · Feb 12, 2009

Just found this on their website (so, I was wrong a little bit: you you pay the lowest price the item is listed for at any time during the pre-order period, not just the two points in time I referred to earlier)...

Pre-Order Price Guarantee

Amazon.com's price for not-yet-released items sometimes changes between the time the item is listed for sale and the time it is released and shipped. Whenever you pre-order a book, CD, video, DVD, video game, or software item, the price we charge when we ship it to you will be the lowest price offered by Amazon.com between the time you place your order and the release date. The order summary in Your Account will reflect the lowest price within 24 hours of the price change.

Please note that our Pre-Order Price Guarantee applies only to items sold by Amazon.com, and not to items (or prices) offered by other sellers on our site.

If your order enters the shipping process before the release date and the price is lowered on the release date, we will automatically refund your credit card for the difference between the price you were charged and the release-date price. If you did not use a credit card to pay for your order, please contact customer service through the Contact Us box on the right side of any Help page.

See less See more

Mikuto

· #10 · Feb 12, 2009

Thank you Xia, I suppose my fears were unfounded then. I'll preorder it

Xia

· #11 · Feb 12, 2009

I'm actually really interested in seeing how a cookbook works out in Kindle format. I have always considered cookbooks to be something that wouldn't work too well on the K. But if you can link directly to a recipe from the index then that might be kinda cool. Seems like one pro of a Kindle cookbook would be being able to shop for the ingredients in the store with the K in hand, rather than having to write out a shopping list beforehand.

koland

· #12 · Feb 12, 2009

Mikuto said:
With most amazon.com items, you don't get charged until the item is shipped. I haven't preordered an ebook before but I think it's the same.

It's possible (though I'm just guessing at this point) that if you "purchase" it now, the price you're charged will be the price the book is when it's actually able to be delivered. Feel free to correct me on that, anyone who has preordered an ebook.

The price it is when you order it is what you pay. The only exception is for pre-orders: if they go DOWN in price, you get lowest price from when you order and when it releases. Since it can't get cheaper than free, that's what you pay.

It has absolutely nothing to do with their magazine subscriptions (where you can get free trials and have to cancel).

koland

· #13 · Feb 12, 2009

Xia said:
I'm actually really interested in seeing how a cookbook works out in Kindle format. I have always considered cookbooks to be something that wouldn't work too well on the K. But if you can link directly to a recipe from the index then that might be kinda cool. Seems like one pro of a Kindle cookbook would be being able to shop for the ingredients in the store with the K in hand, rather than having to write out a shopping list beforehand.

Remember, also, this is a K2 promotion. It can be read on the K1, of course, but on the K2 you search by default only in the book you have open. Look for Chicken in a cookbook and only find the pages where the ingredient is mentioned. Indexes/recipe lists and a TOC will be welcome (but not something I've found on the few cookbooks I've purchased for the Kindle, so far).

luvmy4brats

· #14 · Feb 12, 2009

I ordered this just because I'm curious to see how the cookbook will work on the Kindle (both k1 and k2). I'm also curious how the text to speech feature works with this. And hey, for the price, you can't go wrong.

I don't know if I'll actually use it. That means, uhm, cooking.

CS

· #15 · Feb 12, 2009

I'll use it if I like any of the recipes. No way my Kindle goes near a boiling pot or hot stove though.

Veronica

· #16 · Feb 12, 2009

I have a cookbook on my Kindle. I wouldn't assume all cookbooks are formatted this way, but the book I have has a very extensive table of contents; each entry on the table of contents takes you to that portion of the book when clicked.

The first part of the table of contents is by section (i.e. appetizers, poultry, breads, desserts, etc) and the second part of the contents page lists every individual recipe. It's pretty easy to use.

Anju

· #17 · Feb 12, 2009

Veronica said:
I have a cookbook on my Kindle. It's pretty easy to use.

Veronica what is the name of your cookbook? Is it available on Amazon or ?

Veronica

· #18 · Feb 16, 2009

Anju,

It is the Ultrametabolism Cookbook by Mark Hyman. If I was fancy, I would post a link. But I'm still a Dr. Seuss.

Not sure what is included in the sample, but you could try downloading one to see how it is set up.

Veronica

· #19 · Feb 16, 2009

Oh--sorry... It IS available at Amazon as a Kindle book.

Anju

· #20 · Feb 16, 2009

here's the link - I think - I am still learning how to do this

Doesn't look like I can take advantage of this, difficult to get some things here that don't cost an arm and two legs.

oh well -

See less See more

1 - 20 of 26 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.