Friday, February 28, 2014

Miller Time Friday: Easy Reader





No, not that Easy Reader, much as I adore Morgan Freeman...

Nope, I'm talking about book reading and your favourite way to read a book these days.

You know I am loving being able to read for fun and learning and not just for information (I still sometimes wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat thinking I haven't answered email #187!), but how where and when I read has changed now that I am - ahem - in my 50s.

Real books

Love em, need em, want them.  Nothing feels better than having a real book in your hand, does it?  This is what you'll find me mostly reading around the house.

Unless...

I need to resort to my e-reader. 


Why would I resort to my ereader?

  • The book is too heavy for me to hold in my arms in bed.  Anyone else suffer from this?  I like to lay down to read in bed, but there was no way I could have read The Luminaries or Mark Twain's autobiography!  Enter the ereader!

  • The font is too small.  Sigh.  I have a stronger prescription for the glasses I use in bed, but sometimes they're not even enough and then I resort to my kindle app and make the font NICE AND BIG.  This has its pluses and minuses.  The biggest plus is that I can read it.  The biggest minus is that suddenly I see that I will have 14,000 or so screens to get through and well, that's kind of intimidating. 

  • Travel.  An ereader is so easy on the plane.  You can have all your books with you and it's almost like you are wrapping yourself up in a cocoon of words.

  • I don't need to have that book in my library.  I find it very difficult to get rid of books.  Necessary, but difficult.  And there are some books from the get-go that I know I will only read once and I'm not sure if any of my friends will want to read Rob Lowe's autobiography or if I would have told them I bought his autobiography (well I just have..) and so I bought it on the kindle.  By the way, it was a good book.  Rob Lowe has very Zelig/Forrest Gump tendencies.  You'll have to read the book to know what I mean, though most of you can guess.

And then there is the whole choice of which ereader.  Kindle, kobo, Barnes and Noble's version, iPad.  I own a first generation kindle, but I prefer to sync it to my kindle app on my iPad, since it doesn't have backlighting and makes an odd clicking noise when I turn the page, which late at night appears to be a rather LOUD clicking noise and suddenly you have the sickening feeling you are in an Edgar Allan Poe story.... Did I say too much there?




Would love to hear what you are reading and how you are reading things these days!

I just finished Joseph Boyden's The Orenda, which was recommended to me by my friend Mary, who did a short review of it on her blog here.




I was mesmerized by this book.

It's part "Last of the Mohicans" meets "The Mission" meets sweeping epic.  I finished it on Saturday and I am still thinking about it.  Now I have to go back and read the rest of his work.

In honour of reading, and the fact that somewhere right now, I am likely having a glass of champagne with the Beast at his castle, let's have a cocktail shall we?


Alice and Wonderland (Drink me!)

Grab your cocktail shaker and fill it with ice.
Add 3/4 oz of Tequila, 3/4 oz of Orange Juice and 3/4 oz of Coffee Liqueur.
Shake and strain into a shot glass and serve.

Did someone just see the Cheshire Cat?

I'll be back Sunday, because you know that's my High Holy Holiday: THE OSCARS!!!


Man, I love that look...






 

28 comments:

  1. Darling Wendy:

    As yet, call us old fashioned if you will, we have not succumbed to the Kindle or any other form of technological marvel which permits one to read a book without physically turning the pages. Our day will doubtless come!!

    Jó hétvégét!

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    1. well Jane and Lance - good for you! I commend you and your better eyes (or fortitude!)

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  2. iPad is as far as i will go with e-reading.... I enjoyed having bookcases full of books in my big old house. Now that i downsized, it's a bit daunting trying to squeeze a bookcases in a small space....plus i am allergic to dust.

    Yes, can't wait to watch the costumes...errrrr... The dresses

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    1. ha! I tremble in fear to think of who has to go through our books one day - it will be like when my dad had to sell his house. the getting rid of their library was a sad day indeed!

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  3. I'm an ereader fan for all the reasons you have mentioned. I have the Kindle Paperwhite which I use more than my ipad and my iphone. Ideally I would love to buy and read those wonderful hardbound novels but since I seldom re-read, it's not practical cost-wise and storage-wise. Hope you're having fun out there.

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    1. thanks Marie - having a blast! At the condo for some R&R!

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  4. These days I rely on my kindle. I'm trying not to buy more books as I am running out of room. The kindle is easy to hold while reading in bed as you point out, big books are too heavy for my wrists and then I tire easily and can't read as long... that makes me sound very wimpy indeed but you know what I mean!
    It's only -28 here this morning, it was supposed to be -30 so we've had a bit of a break.;) Enjoy the warmth and sunshine Wendy!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I feel guilty as it is just as cold at home! the weather is fantastic here!

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  5. I have a kobo and use it for books I want to read quickly for information (business books, a popular novel.) I prefer "real" books however. Also love audio books and always have one going in the car.

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    1. Jen I don't drive enough now for an audio book, but my sister is legally blind and they have made all of the difference to her!

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  6. I love the feel of a book in my hands and I LOVE turning pages. I seldom read in the kindle and I should use the ap on my iPad, but as I said I like books and I pass them on often.
    The classics - all those must be real books and will be kept forever.

    Hope you are having a fantastic time!

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    Replies
    1. thanks A - having a blast! The classics must definitely be in real book form!

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  7. I was one of those people who SWORE she would never give up hard copy books. But I did. 1st generation kindle was the gateway drug, and now I read everything on the kindle app on my iPad. 90% of my pleasure reading is done on my stairmaster nowadays, and the iPad fits in the reading rack the way that real books never did. The other factor (and it is a huge one) that has made me a complete convert to reading e-books is the instant gratification of it all. I generally read 2 books a week or so, and I always want to have the next one ready when I finish whatever I am reading. This is especially the case when I discover a new (to me) author or series, and then I gobble them all up one after another. I love that I can have the next iteration right there within less than like 30 seconds. Finally, after 3 transatlantic moves and various other domestic ones, I am just done with lugging around books.

    Hope you are having a great vacation!

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    Replies
    1. M- that is an excellent point and one that I have fully embraced as well!

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  8. I haven't ventured into ereaders yet, but probably will soon. Lugging books on trips is orthopedically bad for you! Consider shoulders and necks. What kind though? I don't have an ipad as I need to have a laptop.

    Just finished Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains, the story of the doctor who began a clinic in Haiti. Now feeling quite inferior. Great book. Next is Mavis Gallant's Paris Stories.

    Are you warm yet?

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    1. I am plenty warm! Just heard a great interview with Mavis the other day, one commemorating her life! Love Tracy Kidder!

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    2. I just this minute found that she had died 2/18!

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  9. I switched to a kindle a few years ago, for the same reasons that have been mentioned, and I've not regretted it one bit! I highly recommend upgrading to the paperwhite Wendy, you'll adore it. Silent and soooo light! I've been working my way through the Game of Thrones books, which are crazy long, and out of my normal comfort zone, but I'm enjoying them quite a bit.

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    1. I really do think I will have to look into a newer iteration, though I do love the kindle app on the iPad!

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  10. I'm still an old fashioned book type of gal, I like the feel and the smell of the paper and I like to see the cover picture staring back at me from the table! I read a lot in the bath so an ereader may not be a great idea although I'd love one for holidays.

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  11. Just finished rereading The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes for the 3rd time and love it even more now and started last night The Perfect Spy by John LeCarre' which has been called his masterpiece and thus far I can see why.

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    1. I love that JB book! Have you read Arthur and George? Clever. And LeCarre, masterful book.

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    2. Loved Arthur & George! I've read 4 other LeCarre's.

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    3. well I will add LeCarre to the list as I have always "meant" to read him!

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  12. I have a kindle from 2011 and absolutely love it. It's travelled thousands of miles with me and has held up fantastically! I'm actually a fan of the top 100 free books - some of them have led to a great series or a new found author.

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Kindness is a virtue...