Monthly Archives: October 2011

E-BOOKS

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It must seem like I’m a big hater…but something about e-books kind of rubs me the wrong way. As a child of the late eighties, I grew up learning with computers. It is not that I’m against screen reading or anything, it’s that I’m against the economy. E-books are now a popular trend, and when someone tells me what I should and shouldn’t like I’m usually less inclined to listen. I have always loved websites like Project Gutenberg that proliferate out of copyright works for free. However, once the potential of the e-book economy caught wind something about them became out of reach and proprietary -thus less attractive to me. I can’t afford a mobile device that does everything, let alone a device that only does one thing really well.

Not owning an e-reader has made me become more attached to traditional paperbacks. Especially when publishers like Harper Collins started claiming that e-books should expire, like the eventual process of books wearing out.

paperback pros:

  • reading in the bath
  • reading in remote areas without electricity
  • you own it forever -even if its ripped in half or you dropped it in the bath and it smells funny

paperback cons;

  • do not glow in the dark
  • may blow away or rip
  • no screen saver

My parents are much cooler then me -since they have an e-reader. They figured out that if they go into the internal settings on their new e-reader and change the date, they can extend the loan period of their e-books…now that could be troublesome for the e-book economy-GO-TEAM.

I mean I do get the perks of having an e-reader… For example, this moment here in Prague was greatly improved by a reading of some Grimm Fairy Tales -but then the battery died. –>

belated feedback on the Freak Observer

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I am always kind of apprehensive to read award winners. I know they are usually picked for a reason, but something about the expectation to adore them is frightening. Reading the Freak Observer written by Woolstern I was pleasantly surprised not to dislike it straight away. Although I liked the modern take on PTSD, it’s not a story I would necessarily associate with a happy ending.  I also felt that the PTSD aspect was kind of simplified because it seemed like it was constricted to the dream world, even though I thoroughly enjoyed the descriptiveness of the writing, especially within Loa’s dreams.  I can’t really get over the ending… although I appreciate the importance of addressing PTSD in a contemporary light.