In honour of Halloween

Winamp?!  Whoa, talk about a blast from the past!  I haven't heard that name in twelve years!  Too bad it's too much of a security risk.  I downloaded the setup file, scanned it for viruses (as I do with all downloads regardless of source; no threats found), and installed it.  When it opened, avast! (the top-rated antivirus software) wanted to open Winamp in safe mode because of security risks.  I said ok to that and then Windows Security Alert popped up with its own security warning.  I never get WSAs so I figured it must be a serious problem if both warnings popped up.  So much for that idea.  I uninstalled Winamp and started over with Juice.  It installed faster and without any security warnings.  I'd call that finished.

The issue is with having to download software.  I'm very picky about what I allow on my computer.  My hard drive was refurbished when I bought it 7 years ago so it's starting to show its age.  When I eventually get myself a newer, faster hard drive, downloading software won't be such an issue.  But on my current hard drive any increase in used space and background-running-bits means my regular uses for my computer are slowed down.

 I brought my latest book over to the computer to read while it slowly attempted to do the things I wanted (like adding podcasts).  It wasn't until I gave up and started shutting stuff down that I realized the book had been sitting on the 'Enter' button by the number keypad.


  Lesson learned: Never do your homework on Halloween.  It becomes a nightmare.

 Graphic via deviantart

Twilight #1.5

As usual, I can't remember how I found out about it.  All I know is that at 1am, I told myself I had to stop reading Stephenie Meyer's partial draft of "Midnight Sun", being the story of "Twilight" written from Edward's perspective, because I HAD to go to work in 7 hours.  She has written another awesome story.  If you are a fan of the Twilight Saga, this is definitely a must-read.  When the actual book is eventually published, I'll get myself a copy.  The books in the original series are on my christmas wishlist this year.  A coworker told me that if you go to the Twilight section of Stephenie Meyer's website, you can read behind-the-story information and outtakes (scenes that never made it into the books).  I do not consider myself a Twi-hard.  I love the books.  I like the movies.  But I do not drool over the characters or the actors who play them.  I will not see the movies on opening night because I'd rather hear the dialogue than the whistles, cheers, sighs, and sophomoric comments of teenage girls.

Read on,
Paula

Quotes about reading

"Can't read all the time.  Bummer." - Rina Bander, in "Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs By Writers Famous & Obscure"

"Parents didn't have to read the New York Review of Books or James Joyce, and they didn't have to make their kids read Treasure Island or Greek myths.  Parents simply had to read for themselves, and to make sure there were kids' books in the house.  Children had only to see that reading was something adults did for pleasure and, following this example, would begin to read on their own."
-Lewis Buzbee, "The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop"

"I've had many more thousands of books in my possession than my shelves at home would indicate.  At one time, I tried to keep them all, but that quest soon became impossible; I now only keep the ones I'm sure I'm going to reread, the ones I'm definitely going to read before I die, and the ones I can't bear to part with because of an aesthetic or emotional attachment."
-Lewis Buzbee, "The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop"

Read on,
Paula

Why wasn't I told about this?

Week 4 of the Learning 2.0 course I'm taking is about social bookmarking and tagging.  We were instructed to sign up for an account with Diigo.  You can view my links and tags here.  But here's the thing, this is the first time anyone has mentioned this service to me.  I guess my friends and coworkers aren't as social media-conscious as I thought.  Either that or they just haven't mentioned it.  The reason I'm personally excited about this newly discovered site is that I will be able to access my bookmarks from any computer with internet access.  I'm jumping for joy over here!  Now this is something I will definitely use!!  I've been the weirdo with her bookmark links on a portable USB or disk.  I recently loaded them into Dropbox because it has that syncing function too.  Going to Diigo will be so much easier!  And it's got the fancy highlighter and post-it note functions.  I also like the visual appeal of Diigo over Delicious.

I have a Stumbleupon account but I don't use it very much.  I imagine that the internet is a very vast web of sites with fascinating things I have yet to discover.  That's why I signed up.  But the subjects of interest are too general and they lead me to webpages rather than the main website.  Most of the sites I found were fun but pointless, see them once and never go back.  That's not what I use the internet for.  So maybe Diigo will be a better alternative to Stumbleupon.  Every now and then I get bored of what I know and go seeking something new and that's when I've used Stumbleupon.  For me, Stumbleupon's recommendations are like junk food.  They fill my needs for the moment but leave no lasting impression.

As if I weren't on the internet enough!

Read on,
Paula

Library eye candy

I've discovered my new favourite website.  I can sit for hours just salivating over The Most Beautiful Libraries in the World.  I had no idea that English country house libraries were so big!  I'm starting to imagine my dream library.  These pictures are definitely helping.

What does your dream library look like?

Read on,
Paula

Everything in one place

I was introduced to Bloglines in 1999 but forgot about it after graduating college.  Just when I rediscovered it, I got an email last year reporting that Bloglines was closing down.  A mad panic to find a replacement ensued.  I ended up going with Google Reader.  This works for me since my blog was with Google and I use Google a lot.  Bloglines changed their mind about closing down but by then I was too entrenched with Google Reader.  I find Google Reader more visually appealing, even though there isn't much to it.  I have a personal Google Reader and I created one specifically for the Learning 2.0 course I'm taking.  I weeded my personal account down to 32 blogs and I have 25 blogs in the Learning 2.0 account.  I love RSS feeds because I love being able to read it all in one place instead of going from site to site.  It's so much easier and I'm grateful to the people who invented it.  I imagine that a library would use Google Reader to gather resources in one spot.  Getting RSS feeds from online newspapers, library-specific blogs (such as 025.431) and other information/research resources could help staff to find answers to reference questions or to post to the website/blog/Facebook/Twitter that may be of interest to patrons.

I created a Twitter account.  To be completely honest, I was hoping that wouldn't be a course requirement.  I don't like Twitter.  Being limited to 140 characters means that most of what I've read on Twitter is mundane, boring, and unnecessary. The only redeeming quality is that your favourite author(s) might have a Twitter account.  But since Twitter is so popular, a library could use it to reach more of its "connected" patrons.  Twitter could be used for the same things a library Facebook account, blog, and/or website could be used: namely, information about upcoming events, alerts about holiday hours, samples of new title listings, and links to online resources and articles of interest.


Read on,
Paula

Three cups of tea and deceit

Have you read "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson?  It was getting rave reviews and book friends had mentioned their interest in reading it.  It sounded good but for some reason I was never really excited about it.  I put it on my to-read list as a 'just-in-case-I-have-nothing-better-to-read' title.  I strongly believe in donating to charity and helping fellow humans but I don't often read about it.

I'm a big fan of Jon Krakauer's writing style.  I've read "Into the Wild" (years before the film), "Into Thin Air", and "Eiger Dreams".  His latest book is "Three Cups of Deceit".  It seems that "Three Cups of Tea" is not exactly 100% accurate.  It sounds similar to the James Frey/Oprah debacle.  I've used this as an excuse to remove "Three Cups of Tea" from my to-read list.  I wasn't very keen in the first place anyway.  But although I love Krakauer's work, I have no intention of reading "Three Cups of Deceit" either.  I prefer not to read about the fraudulence of so-called humanitarians.  I prefer to keep my rose-coloured glasses on about the world.  I prefer to believe in the good of others.  I prefer to be naive if that's what it takes to save my sanity.


Read on,
Paula

New to ebooks

I have a BlackBerry Curve 9300.  Unfortunately, my library's ebooks from Overdrive are not compatible with my model.  I keep my fingers crossed for someday.  Until then, I have managed to find an app (called Buku Reader, $1.99) that allows me to read epub books.  I read all five of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series on it.  I am now basking in the constant availability of reading material without having to worry that I will somehow ruin the physical library books that I read.  Most trade and paperback books get scrunched and deformed from me carrying them in my backpack, therefore I try to read hardcover as often as possible.

Today I downloaded "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens (which I intend to read during my christmas holidays...I like being prepared), "High Fidelity" by Nick Hornby (I've seen the movie, now I want to read the book), and "Devil in the White City" by Eric Larson (a title recommended by a coworker).  I also have books by Mary Roach, David Sedaris, and Malcolm Gladwell already loaded.  I currently have 13 titles loaded and hope to increase it.  I will be travelling during the christmas holidays and don't wish to be stuck without any reading material.  Nine of the thirteen titles are on my "to read" list and the others are incidental finds.

Although I'm enjoying reading on my BlackBerry, there are drawbacks.  People might think it's the small screen but I'm personally fine with that.  Actually, it's the way the text is converted either from the file or in the app.  There is one font and one font only.  This means I'll have to read "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter" in print because it switches from 'I' to 'he' so often and I can't keep it straight without the differentiation in text.  Also, sometimes there is no break between paragraphs and/or chapters.  It ain't great but it'll do.  It feeds my craving for constant reading access without having to spend large sums of money.  A friend recently bought a Kobo and I helped her figure out how to load it.  All the talk about Kobos, Kindles, and Sony Readers has me intrigued but not enough yet to actually purchase one.  At least with my BlackBerry, I have it with me at all times anyway.

Do you have/use an ebook reader?  If so, what kind and are you happy with it?  Do you still read print books?  Do you have a preference?  Personally, I like both.

Read on,

Paula

WOTS

I attended this year's The Word On The Street festival in Toronto with four book-loving friends.  And we go for the whole day.  This is my second year in a row and I hope to go every year.  I am a big Robert J. Sawyer fan and he has been at the festival both times I've gone.  I hope he continues to attend as well.  I love hearing him read from his own books because of the way he reads it, giving the story more emotion and pizzazz than when I read it to myself.  When I told one of my friends that I had bought only 10 books this year, she thought that was a lot whereas I was thinking it wasn't much at all.  If I'd had more money, there were at least four or five more that I wanted and I'm sure I could have found even more.

Read on,

Paula