Category Archives: me!

Why I <3 my Kindle

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kindlefromamazon

I have to admit, I feel sort of guilty about loving my Kindle after Amazonfail part deux, but I do love it so. I see a lot of hate directed toward the e-book reader out there on the internet…and while it’s not my goal to change anyone’s mind, I thought I’d write about a few of the reasons why I like mine.

1. Instant gratification

Last week, I decided that I wanted to read the Newbery-winning When You Reach Me. I mean, I knew I wanted to read it, but I decided that I wanted to read it right now. I went to Amazon, downloaded the free sample, and was happily reading away within minutes. When I got to the end of the sample, I clicked on “buy,” and had the whole novel at my fingertips.

2. Portability

I love being able to carry around a whole library of books anywhere I want. Now, I don’t carry my Kindle with me *everywhere*, but I always take it with me when I have an appointment, or when I’m traveling. (Any reader knows the dilemma of choosing which books to bring with you on vacation, or even on a weekend away. Now I can bring as many books as I want!)

3. Buying more books, taking up less space

I am an English teacher married to a librarian. Needless to say, we have a lot of books. I don’t even have room for all of my books…I have books in boxes. I have books in my classroom. I have stacks of books in random corners all over the house. And Rand? Has more books than I do. With our Kindles, we can continue buying new books that we don’t have to find shelf (or floor) space for. (Please note…this has not stopped either of us from buying books in their regular  form.)

4. Electronic Paper Technology

I know lots of people read e-books on their iPhones and other portable devices. I know (also) that lots of people are excited about the iPad and its e-book reader. What I love about the Kindle that those devices don’t offer is the way it mimics actual paper. (Yes, other e-readers have this technology, but I don’t own those. If I did, I’d be writing about them…) There’s no backlighting–some people have complained about this, but backlighting is what makes looking at a computer screen for extended periods hard on your eyes.

5. The sample option

I mentioned this above, but I love being able to sample a book before deciding if I want to buy it. It’s the electronic equivalent of browsing in a bookstore (something I also enjoy doing). It’s also a good way for me to keep track of things I might want to read.

Now, is the Kindle perfect? Of course not. One thing, for example, that I hope Amazon offers in the future is the ability to share books within a household. Rand and I both have Kindles, but we have no way of sharing reading material. So if Rand buys a book for his Kindle and he thinks I might enjoy it, the only way for him to share it with me is to give me HIS Kindle. Or for me to buy another copy of the book–something we would never have to do with an ink-and-paper book. (a quick google search lets me know that there are ways of sharing, but they’re not *good* ways.)

And then, of course, there’s the DRM problem (which is sort of the same issue as above). I occasionally think I should be more upset about it, but I haven’t been able to get worked up over it.

Anyway, that’s what I like about my Kindle. Now that the iPad is out there, do you think the Kindle is a dead technology? Will people still want a dedicated e-book reader when there is a device out there that can do a bunch of other things as well? Will the latest Amazon debacle over pricing of e-books drive potential customers away? (I have no idea…that’s why I’m asking you!)

Random thoughts for Thursday

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Ok…lots of random stuff floating around in my brain. Let’s see if I can make some sense of it.

1. BRR. I DO NOT LIKE when the temps dip into the teens. (Lower than that? I’d prefer it if I didn’t have to leave the house, thanks.)

2. I think the iPad, aside from the stupid name, looks like an awesome shiny new toy. However, since in the past year, I have acquired (a) a MacBook pro, (b) a Kindle, and (c) a Droid, I probably won’t seeking to buy said shiny new toy. I will, however, look on with envy. 😉 (If you didn’t see it when I posted it on facebook, this post on the iPad is pretty funny)

3. It would be difficult for me not to note the passing of JD Salinger. While I can’t say I was a fan, he is an important figure in American literature.

4. This week, I proctored and rated the NYS Regents Exam in English. All of our students passed, including a small group targeted as struggling writers. One of my fall semester duties was teaching a course specifically designed to help these students improve their writing skills and pass the exam. Win! (also win…I have no proctoring/rating duties tomorrow, and so I don’t have to go in. whee!)

5. As a (former) sorority girl, I can honestly tell you that my sorority was nothing at all like this. (It’s really funny, but also sort of sad, as it reinforces all kinds of negative stereotypes about Greek life. So I say pfft to you, Cornell chapter of Pi Beta Phi–and give a hearty cheer for the Eta Beta chapter of Alpha Delta Pi, for showing me that not ALL sororities are “like that.”)

**I love you ADPi, deep down in my <3**

6. Sadly, I’ve wasted too much time…must accomplish something this evening, but what? Clean? Exercise? Crafts? Feel free to vote. 😉

Nine years

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Angie Trombetta Morelli

This post is a couple of days late, as I have been busy and distracted…I also forgot to make a couple of important phone calls, and for that, I feel terrible.

Miss you, gram.

Baby Fiona

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Hi all…my cousin Meghan just started a blog to keep family and friends up-to-date on her little girl, Fiona. Fiona has been at Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh since she was born, and she’s still got quite a road ahead of her. Fiona was born premature, but that’s not the only battle she’s facing–she was born with an omphalocele.

Meghan and her husband have been spending a lot of time at the Ronald McDonald House, a cause that is near and dear to my heart.

I know Meghan, Tom and Fiona would appreciate any positive energy/thoughts/prayers you might be able to send their way. Thanks!

Odds and ends

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Droid

  • I’ve been very much enjoying my new Motorola Droid, which was the gift I bought for myself with Christmas money…very exciting. I’ve already discovered a bunch of fun apps, but I’d love to hear from you if you know of a good one. 🙂
  • I just uploaded a bunch of pictures, mostly having to do with Christmas.
  • Rand and I just finished watching the first season of Mary Tyler Moore, which has been a lot of fun…on to season 2!
  • Friday night, we went to see ComedySportz Buffalo, a live comedy improv show (much like Whose Line is it Anyway). It was a lot of fun, and I would definitely go back!

Otherwise, it’s been a fairly low-key weekend…keeping warm, grading papers, and so on. And tomorrow, it’s back to work. Hope you all had a great weekend!,

Books read in 2009

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I’m not sure this list is 100% accurate. I always seem to forget a few things. I also didn’t count a couple of things I started but didn’t get around to finishing (mostly school-related).

I just started The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff, so that will likely be the first on my list for 2010.

The actual last book I finished last year was Liar by Justine Larbalestier, which I thought was fantastic, and I am dying to talk about it. If you’ve read it (or plan to) please let me know!!

1. Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy–Ally Carter
2. Dead Until Dark–Charlaine Harris
3. Sweethearts–Sara Zarr
4. Rise and Shine–Anna Quindlen
5. The War at Ellsmere–Faith Erin Hicks
6. Life as We Knew It–Susan Beth Pfeffer
7. The Walking Dead–Robert Kirkman
8. Don’t Judge a Girl by her Cover–Ally Carter (ARC)
9. Paper Towns–John Green
10. Ironside: A Modern Faery’s Tale–Holly Black
11. Jinx–Meg Cabot
12. Persepolis–Marjane Satrapi
13. Persepolis II–Marjane Satrapi
14. Pants on Fire–Meg Cabot
15. Hitman–Garth Ennis
16. The Little Prince
17. Heart-Shaped Box–Joe Hill
18. Romeo & Juliet*
19. Julius Caesar*
20. Alis–Naomi Rich
21. Flashforward–Robert J. Sawyer
22. Living Dead in Dallas–Charlaine Harris
23. To Kill a Mockingbird–Harper Lee*
24. The Fantastic Four–Mark Waid (ongoing–I think I’ve read 3 collections))
25. DMZ–Brian Wood (ongoing)
26. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist–Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
27. Lord of the Flies–William Golding*
28. Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side–Beth Fantaskey
29. Summon the Keeper–Tanya Huff
30. The Second Summoning–Tanya Huff
31. Long Hot Summoning–Tanya Huff
32. WWW: Wake–Robert J. Sawyer
33. The Other Side of the Island–Allegra Goodman
34. The Geek Girl’s Guide to Cheerleading–Charity Tahmaseb and Darcy Vance
35. Transmetropolitan–Warren Ellis
36. Just After Sunset–Stephen King
37. Wintergirls–Laurie Halse Anderson
38. Rosemary and Rue–Seanan McGuire
39. Geektastic–Holly Black and Cecil Castellucci (editors)
40. The Mediator Book 2: The Ninth Key–Meg Cabot
41. Liar–Justine Larbalestier
42. A Christmas Carol–Charles Dickens**
43. The Year of the Flood–Margaret Atwood
44. The Odyssey (abridged version)–Homer (translated by Robert Fitzgerald)**
45. An Abundance of Katherines–John Green

*Books read/reading for school

Have a shiny new year

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baby_new_year

Here’s to an excellent 2010! 🙂

Merry, merry

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No, my cards are not in the mail yet…but I am still determined to send them.

Rand and I are in PA to celebrate with my family. We both hope that you and yours have a wonderful Christmas!

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Snow day

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I probably shouldn’t be enjoying a snow day, given how much work I have to do/how much I need to accomplish with my students before Christmas break….but yeah, sometimes teachers want to sleep in, too. 😉

Somewhere along the line, oatmeal became my breakfast of choice. When I don’t have to work, I VERY much prefer being able to make real oats (as opposed to “quick” oats, which is what I have when I have to get to work). In the summer, when peaches were in season, I was cutting up a peach and drizzling it with honey to have mixed in to my oatmeal. My fall treat is dicing up an apple, cooking with a splash of apple cider added to the water (along with cinnamon and nutmeg) and sweetening with a mix of brown sugar and Splenda. Yum.

I had a shoe tragedy yesterday…my go-to pair of brown loafers (pictured below) has a HUGE crack in the sole. Which I realized when I stepped outside and my foot got wet.

I’ve had them for a few years, and I wore them ALL the time. I bought them at JC Penney, because on sale/with coupon, they are much cheaper than the $75 price tag at the website. So I called JC Penney yesterday, and of course they no longer carry these in-store. I was able to order them from the JC Penney website, but of course this shoe was out of stock. So I got this one instead:

(I do also have a pair of these that I can’t wear anymore, because the lining has worn off the heel area and it was putting holes in the heels of my socks…) So that’s good, but I still want the other ones, too.

Anyway.

I’m having a hard time deciding what to do with my day…be lazy, or be productive? I should probably get some grading done. Maybe read for a bit. We don’t have a tree yet, but maybe I could get some of the other decorations up. Clean? Put on pants and venture out into the world? Sigh…I just DON’T KNOW!

I think I’ll start by emptying the dishwasher. I’ll let you know how it goes. Happy snow day!