Saturday, May 15, 2010

Books and Car

A couple of books I just finished really touched me. The kind of books that make you question the way you live. They are "Stones into Schools" the follow up to "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and "The Last American Man" by Elizabeth Gilbert. And no, it is not written in the style of her more public books. I would highly recommend both.

While we were away, I got used to reading eBooks. I rather like that method now. The audio book didn't work for me too well.

I found the voices of the readers too different from the way I would read things in my head and some of the background music too distracting. I had no idea there was going to be background music. It made some books sound like a musical.

So 50% success is good enough for me. I can now understand the appeal of the Kindle. The type is brighter and there is less eye strain. I'm still OK with reading from my laptop. It is free and our library has a good enough selection for me. If I ever use it up, then I may consider alternatives.

My car is finally ready for its rear brakes to be replaced after 13 years. It is starting to make a racket during braking and it is embarrassing D to be in my car... I'm going to make an appointment hopefully for next week.

While it is in, I'm going to ask them to take a look at my exhaust system. It sounds like there is a small hole somewhere. I use oil spray on my car so this is the first time it has shown symptoms of this. Hope the bill won't make me faint!

5 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed the Last American Man. Great read.

    How do you borrow books from the library and read them on a laptop? Is there a specific book reader program you use?

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  2. Hi Executioner!

    Our library online has an area whereby they walk you through their digital editions category.

    They have links to the software you'd need to take advantage of the media, all for free. I'm using Adobe Digital Editions for ebooks and Overdrive Media Console for audiobooks.

    Once downloaded, you can proceed to browse and check out ebooks. The software is pretty cool. It keeps track of how many days you have for each book and if you are done early, you can "return" it.

    You can make bookmarks to hold your place and modify the screen to suit your reading style. We are allowed to take out 5 ebooks or audiobooks at a time.

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  3. I haven't read either; will definitely keep it in mind. I'm still trying to make a dent in "A New Literary History of America" which has 1095 pages. Don't know when I'll finish that. It's not a fast read like Harry Potter either...

    I've gone to the Apple store to drool at the iPad lately. It seems so very nice! But I don't know if I should spend the money. I do need a new laptop sometime this year (okay, not "need" but "would like to have"). It seems as if the iPad would have all the functions I need in a regular laptop. We'll see.

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  4. Hi Sandra!

    Your book sounds heavy -- small frequent doses may suit its style!

    I haven't seen an ipad yet. On some level I'm afraid to because I know myself enough...

    I'll be interested to find out if you feel it is a comparable laptop replacement.

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  5. PS @ Executioner;

    I'm still chuckling about the whole Peter Rabbit section!

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