Amazon unveils MatchBook and new Kindle Paperwhite

MatchBook lets you buy the digital version of any print book purchased since 1995 for $2.99 or less

Oh my God. Oh my God, you guys. Oh my God. Starting in October, Amazon is going to make it possible for you to completely replenish your entire book collection from the last 18 years on your Kindle.

Amazon announced Tuesday that in just a few short weeks, it will be launching Kindle MatchBook, a program that will let you buy the digital version of any print book you’ve purchased through Amazon since 1995 for $2.99 or less. Some will even be free.

Over 10,000 books will already be available when MatchBook launches next month, including best sellers like Wally Lamb’s I Know This Much Is True, John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany, Colleen McCullough’s The Thorn Birds, and more.

Customers will be able to instantly see their entire order history in one sitting to find out which print books are available in digital format for the MatchBook program. Books will range from $0, to $0.99, to $1.99, to $2.99.

This might seriously be the best news I’ve heard all week. I don’t even know how many times I’ve read a book, loaned it to a friend who never gave it back, or sold it at a garage sale, and then realized years later that I really want to read it again.

“If you logged onto your CompuServe account during the Clinton administration and bought a book like Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus from Amazon, Kindle MatchBook now makes it possible for that purchase—18 years later—to be added to your Kindle library at a very low cost,” said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President of Kindle Content, in a statement.

This would be really funny if I HADN’T ACTUALLY BOUGHT MEN ARE FROM MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS DURING THE CLINTON ADMINISTRATION. (Actually, it was a year into the Bush administration. I was 16, get off my back!)

Other authors who will be available through the MatchBook program include Michael Crichton (clever girl…), Ray Bradbury, Jodi Picoult, Marcus Sakey, and more.

Also in Amazon news, Amazon has announced its 6^th-generation Kindle e-reader, the all new Kindle Paperwhite. The new Paperwhite features a higher contrast display, next-generation built-in light that guides light toward the surface of the display so there’s less eye strain, a 25% faster processor, and a 19% lighter touch grid, which means the Paperwhite responds more quickly to a lighter touch.

It also comes with Goodreads integration, which allows you to rate the books you’ve read and share highlights on Goodreads directly from your Kindle.

Additionally, it comes with Kindle FreeTime, which was originally set up for Kindle Fire as a way to limit screen time for the kiddos. But the Paperwhite version comes with parental controls that allow parents to hand-pick books for their kids to read, see progress reports on time spent reading, number of words looked up, books finished, and badges earned.

And now for specs: the Kindle Paperwhite comes with eight weeks of battery life and weighs 7.3 ounces.

The new Paperwhite is available for pre-order now for $119. The Kindle starts shipping September 30.