News - 1) Amazon announces a brisk beginning for KDP Select at the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, with impressive numbers reported for December. Jon Cog covers the story at Beyond Black Friday, as does Jeremy Greenfield at Digital Book World. If you're still wavering on signing up for Amazon Prime membership, Jason Calacanis will probably tip you over the edge. 2) Amazon releases tools for Kindle Format 8 (KF8). CNET has the story, and the EBook Ninjas have the details in their latest podcast episode, Number 63.  3) Amazon's Kindle Content VP, Russ Grandinetti, address the topic of ebook pricing a year ago at Digital Book World expo. Click here for the full presentation, and look for the video player in the right column partway down the screen. Tech Tips - If it still bugs you that the Kindle Fire does not have a physical volume controller, you might want to download a clever free app named Volume Control 1.1 that will add a discreet controller to your screen, always available to adjust your Fire's volume.  James Schorr recommends SquareTrade for Kindle extended warranties. Interview (Starts at 16:38) - John Tayman, author of The Colony and founder and CEO of Byliner.com, spoke with me by Skype and phone from San Francisco on January 11. He explained how he chose the length of Byliner Originals, great nonfiction and fiction stories published for Kindle and other ebook platforms. Among the topics discussed: And the War Came by Jamie Malanowski, Three Cups of Deceit by Jon Krakauer, Rules for Virgins by Amy Tan, and Apple Quick Reads. Content - Nancy Pearl, the author of Book Lust: Recommended Books for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason,  partners with Amazon to create a new series, Nancy Pearl's Book Lust Rediscoveries. The first of six planned books in the series is A Gay and Melancholy Sound by Merle Miller, available for preorder. Northwest Book Lovers are unamused. On my Kindle Fire, I'm enjoying Monopoly and Downton Abbey, but my music listening has migrated back to my computer's better speakers. Next Week's Guest: Catherine MacDonald, founder of BookLending.com . Next Week's Google Plus Video TKC Hangout: Wednesday, January 18, at 3 p.m. Mountain Time.