Sunsets, Stars, West, Wind
The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
3.5 stars
I found this gem yesterday via Feedbooks public domain short stories listings. I raised my eyebrows when I saw E.M. Forster wrote a science fiction novella (in 1909). I love reading dystopian fiction, provided I space it between less depressing offerings. Forster surprised me with not one dystopian future, but two. His ideas mixed to form a somewhat steampunkish voluntary Matrix benevolent Terminator mashup.
I follow a blog devoted to finding inexpensive and often free ebooks for Nook Color owners called The Cheap. This morning they blogged about a unique edition of a classic and beloved Christmas story:
A Christmas Carol: Enhanced Edition by Charles Dickens, read by Monica Dickens – $1.65!.
I had already planned to re-read this classic tale, but traded in my old ebook version for this new ‘enhanced’ one. I even sent it as a gift to a family member (who also owns a Nook Color) as an early Christmas gift. I wanted to test out the new ‘Buy as a Gift’ feature at Barnes & Noble as I plan to do some last minute Christmas shopping over the next few days.
Once I read (and listen) to this version of A Christmas Carol, I will post a review of the experience here.
About four hours ago, I received notice (several of them actually from various different venues and feeds) of the highly anticipated software update from Barnes & Noble for the Nook Color (specifically update 1.4.1). When the Nook Tablet was announced last month, B&N also mentioned this software update, probably as a carrot to current owners of the Nook Color. Since I’m a geek by nature and can’t stand to let an update languish, I dived right in and manually installed the update.
I barely glanced at the instructions. I read just enough to confirm that the process for 1.4.1 seemed essentially identical to the last three software updates. I actually didn’t get a chance to manually install 1.3 as it happened ‘automatically’ overnight while I was sleeping. I did manually download and install 1.2 though, but that was back in May when I first received my Nook Color.
Basically, I downloaded the 208 MB file. I made sure I had at least 20 percent battery life left (I had 65 percent), then I connected my Nook Color to my laptop. I copied the downloaded file to the root of the Nook Color’s internal storage area (not the root of my microSD card). I safely disconnected my Nook Color and left it alone for the next couple of hours (I had other things I needed to attend to). The Nook Color will automatically ‘see’ the file, uncompress it and install the software update.
The following is copied directly from the Nook Color Software Updates page:
The NOOK Color Ver 1.4.1 update contains new features and enhancements, including:
I tested out as many of the enhancements as I could find over lunch. I read an ebook in portrait and landscape mode (the latter was not previously an option). The ereader reacted faster to my touch gestures as well. I really like the updated ereader interface, including the progress bar that shows me how many pages are left to read in the current chapter and the ability to lookup a highlighted phrase via Google or Wikipedia.
I checked out the new home for Nook Color apps (relocated to the Library section). The Library got a small overhaul, but nothing that jumps out and grabs me. The new non-beta version of Nook Friends lets you import contacts from Facebook in addition to the other sources previously supported. I connected to my NetFlix account and tested video streaming. The music player didn’t lose my music or my playlists or my audiobooks and the Pandora app still streamed music. All my photos and non-B&N ebooks remained intact and readily available.
The only app I had any trouble with was the GoodReads one.* I contacted them via their Feedback forum as I’m probably one of the first to update the Nook Color and attempt to use their application. I was able to access GoodReads, however, via the web browser.
My initial thoughts on the update are positive. I like what I see, especially in the updated ereader interface. I also like having my Netflix streaming available literally in the palm of my hand (so if I don’t feel like reading at lunch, I can instead watch old Star Trek episodes). The software update will be pushed via wifi starting next week, but if you don’t mind getting your hands a little tech-dirty, I’d recommend you download the update and enjoy the benefits at your earliest convenience. This update takes some of the sting out of not waiting until Christmas to purchase an ereader. If I’d had the patience back in May to wait just six months, I could have had a dual-core processor version in the Nook Tablet. At least now I can enjoy most of the benefits of the software, without the hardware upgrade.
After nearly a full day of use, I’ve found a couple of strange web browser issues that Barnes & Noble customer service wanted to fix with a sledge hammer (i.e., they wanted me to de-register and re-register my Nook Color). I refused and asked for a different less ‘scorched earth’ resolution. By the time I started chatting with them, I’d already cleared my cache, cookies and history and powered off the device twice. The customer service representative asked me to wait a few minutes while he consulted the next tier of support. He came back and asked the I set the browser to ‘default’ mode. I countered asking if he meant the option under Advanced Settings that resets the browser to ‘factory’ defaults. He wasn’t completely sure so while I waited for him to get confirmation, I reset my Browser Mode setting from ‘Mobile Browser Mode‘ (where I had been for months if not from the beginning) to ‘Desktop Browser Mode‘ and returned to my web page. Now, I was able to navigate to my Yahoo Mail mobile web site and the Google Reader page included all the options (some where missing before switching modes).
I still use mobile sites when I can (and had to edit my bookmarks or re-bookmark the mobile versions of my favorites) because I prefer the streamlined interface on the smaller screen. So I’m back to being happy with my Nook Color and still exploring all the new and enhanced features. If I find any more tweaks or tips this week, I’ll continue to add them to this post.
* Update 12/15/2011: GoodReads fixed the application within 48 hours of my initial post to their Feedback forum and last night I downloaded the updated app (press the ‘Check for Updates’ link in the Apps section of the Library) to my Nook Color. The About page displays version 1.7.3 as the currently installed version. I tested the app and determined all the features I’ve come to know and love were again functioning as expected. A DropBox update presented itself simultaneously with the GoodReads update, so I downloaded it as well. The About section of the Settings show version 1.2.7 installed. The application appears to be functioning normally.
My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business by Dick Van Dyke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I barely read any non-fiction (outside of the technical writing found in information technology reference guides) in any given year. When I do branch out away from fiction, I prefer to read a biography, autobiography or memoir, or a history book, usually on a particular brief period.
I breezed through Dick Van Dyke‘s autobiography quickly, probably because it felt like he sat in my living regaling me with tales from his past in his engaging and witty manner. His charm and good will bubbled out of the pages. Even the troubles and tragedies he confessed only evoked my compassion or caring in my assessment of him.
A couple of excerpts that really struck a chord for me:
I was all about living a kind, righteous, moral, forgiving, and loving life seven-days a week, not just the one day when you went to church. … And if there’s not a higher power, no one’s going to be worse for the wear for his or her effort. Was there one way? No, not as far as I could tell — other than to feel loved, to love back, … as simple as making sure you spend time helping make life a little better for other people.
(from the Family Values chapter)
A few years ago, I told Esquire magazine that the Buddhists boiled it down to the essentials. They said you need three things in life: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. The message does not get any clearer. I heard walt Disney, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Carl Reiner all say the same thing in their own way. Hope is life’s essential nutrient, and love is what gives life meaning. I think you need somebody to love and take care of, and someone who loves you back. In that sense, I think the New Testament got it right. So did the Beatles. Without love, nothing has any meaning.
(from the Curtain Calls chapter)
When I finished the book, I wanted to give him a big hug, but of course, I’m too far away to do that. So I’ll send him a little love for all the laughs and love he’s shared unconditionally with me, with all of us really, for some many decades. As long as I’ve been alive, there’s always been a Dick Van Dyke to make me smile.
For my twenty-first installment in my ‘Thirty Days of Thankfulness‘ I am grateful for my sense of direction, my spatial awareness and love of maps and geography. This post will do double duty as it also masquerades as a book review of Ken Jennings’ recently released Maphead.
Maphead: Charting the Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks
by Ken Jennings
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
(actually more like 3.5 stars, but GoodReads doesn’t allow half star ratings)
A quick read, similar in format and informality to Ken’s inaugural Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs book. All twelve chapter titles included a cartographic definition together with a quote. For example, the first chapter entitled ‘Eccentricity’ with the definition ‘the deformation of an elliptical map projection’ and the Pat Conroy quote ‘My wound is geography.’
My favorite chapter falls in the center, halfway from nowhere to somewhere, Chapter 6 ‘Legend’ with a definition of ‘an explanatory list of the symbols on a map’ and the C.S. Lewis quote ‘Most of us, I suppose, have a secret country, but for most of us it is only an imaginary country.’ I did a double-take when I read on p. 113 that Brandon Sanderson and Ken Jennings were college roommates. I heartily agree with Brandon’s assertion that ‘The hallmark of epic fantasy is immersion’ and that’s why he always includes maps in his books. Brandon goes on to relate to Ken that he ‘started to look and make sure a book had a map. That was one of the measures of whether it was going to be a good book or not.” When Brandon first read The Lord of the Rings he thought, ‘Oho, he [Tolkien] knows what he’s doing. A map and an appendix!’ Ken states a few paragraphs later that ‘Fantasy readers like that abrupt drop into the deep end and the learning curve it takes to keep up’ further affirmed by Brandon’s confirmation that ‘By the end of a big epic fantasy novel, you’ll have to become an expert in this world that doesn’t exist. It’s challenging.’
I felt affirmed and validated for years of pouring over maps of fictional non-existent realms. I once thought to recreate the map of Middle Earth as a tapestry to hang proudly in my living room or library. One of the first prints I purchased from a newly favorite epic fantasy author, Janny Wurts, was a large format (40×30 inches) map of Athera, solely because I wanted to be able to trace (without squinting or resorting to a magnifying glass and the loss of the center of the map to the no man’s land in the binding of the books) the routes of Arithon, Elaira, Dakar, Lysaer and other characters intrinsic to her Wars of Light and Shadow epic fantasy series. The first thing I did upon receiving the next Wheel of Time novel was to skim through for any new maps interspersed in the chapters and sections. Back in the mid80s, I purchased both the Atlas of the Land and the The Atlas of Pern by Karen Wynn Fonstad so I could pour over even more imaginary maps while waiting for the next Pern or Thomas Covenant novel to be published. But I digress, tangentially, from the book at hand.
In Chapter 9 ‘Transit’ (definition: ‘a piece of surveying equipment used by mapmakers: a theodolite with a reversible telescope’), Ken sparked my interest in road rallies (something I always wanted to do when my husband was a member of the local SCCA). I always excelled at those trick-question instruction test in school, so I might just try Jim Sinclair’s annual St. Valentine’s Day Massacre (a contest by mail where you travel a circuitous course across American from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Statue of Liberty entirely by maps) next year. That is if I can find a way to sign up; an Internet search came up oddly sparse.
Ken introduced me to ‘geocaching’ in Chapter 10 ‘Overedge’ (definition: ‘the portion of the map that lies outside the neatline border’), which so intrigue me that I grabbed my Nook Color and signed up at Geocaching.com, even though I don’t even own a GPS unit (outside of the one in my dumbphone which doesn’t have any ‘free’ software associated with it to assist in finding or placing geocaches).
Overall, I enjoyed the few hours I spent geeking over cartography and geography with Ken Jennings as my tour guide. I learned a few things and I laughed out loud a couple of times. I can’t think of a better way to spend a weekend, especially if cold November rain greets you on the other side of the door.
For the third day of my ‘Thirty Days of Thankfulness‘ I wish to express my appreciation of reading books. I can’t remember of a time when I didn’t know how to read, going clear back to when I was three or four years old. By the time I finished second grade, I believe I had finished all the Laura Ingalls Wilder Prairie books and started working through my mom’s old collection of Nancy Drew novels (printed in the 30s or before), as well as a few Hardy Boys and Trixie Beldon mysteries. I also remember reading Black Beauty and Little Women several times. Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass come to mind as well as some Jules Verne. I loved (and still re-read) C.S. Lewis Chronicles of Narnia and own a large hardcover omnibus edition, which I place prominently on my Shelf of Honor.
As I approached middle school age, I became exposed to other genres, including science fiction and horror. During my early teen years, I couldn’t read enough Stephen King. I still consider The Stand to be one of his best novels and a great example of post-apocalyptic fiction. But there came a point when the thrills paled and the terror became predictable. I did an about-face, a complete one-eighty and dived into epic fantasy. I have rarely, if ever, looked back.
Why did epic fantasy appeal to me? The size of the books. Yes, I prefer tomes. The longer the book (or series), the happier I am. I read fast (not as fast as I did during my young adult hood, but still no slouch). Of the three novels shown in the photo above, the Janny Wurts novel on my Nook Color is the longest, weighing in at 749 pages. The classic, by Twain, and Vinge’s Rainbow’s End are actually approximately the same size in length: between 350 and 400 pages. If I put my mind to it, had few distractions, and really enjoyed the novel, I could finish either of the paperbacks in a day. Janny’s writing, however, is dense, rich and full of revelations and layers that require concentration. I will enjoy her prose for a minimum of ten days, and again in the future, because there’s always something new to find in her work when you re-visit it.
While Janny’s latest publication, the very recently released Initiate’s Trial, seems long to the casual reader at nearly twice the size of a normal paperback, to me it is a good sized epic fantasy novel.
The longest books I’ve read in the last three years include:
For more of my book stats, visit my stats page at GoodReads.
I spent most of the 90s and the first half of the 00s raising children and helping my chronically ill husband all while working full-time. So basically, for a decade or a decade and a half, I stopped reading. Not completely, of course, because I read technical manuals and references guides for work and I occasionally picked up a novel off the new release shelf at the library. But I had blinders on and wasn’t taking advantage of the wealth of information available via the Internet.
About three years ago, a friend on Facebook invited me to join GoodReads, a social network site for bibliophiles. I felt like I’d found the keys to the gates of heaven. I quickly found online book clubs that aligned with my readings interests, signing up immediately with the Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Club. That quickly followed with Beyond Reality (which seems to be my favorite place to hang out for the moment). Eventually, I joined (and now help moderate) the Fantasy Book Club and the sister group Fantasy Book Club Series.
My awareness of reading and reviewing skyrocketed and pushed me to branch out in the ‘real world.’ Conveniently located in the building I spend 
every weekday in is a branch of the Kansas City Public Library. I participated in reading challenges and seasonal book clubs, some of which I’ve written blog posts about here (including: ‘A Taste of Victorian Literature‘; ‘Altered States‘; ‘Readers in the Rue Morge’; and, ‘The Big Read‘ featuring Twain’s Adventures of Tom Sawyer).
As if reading, reviewing and discussing novels wasn’t wonderful enough, the real icing on the cake comes from the authors themselves. Unlike in the 80s when I had to write a letter on a manual typewriter and snail mail it to one of my favorite authors with a question (I did this with Barbara Hambly, Piers Anthony and Stephen R. Donaldson – all of whom replied courtesy the self-addressed stamped enveloped I provided them), today’s authors write blogs, tweet via Twitter and participate eagerly at GoodReads either as discussion leaders or via dedicated Q&A topics posted for the chosen Book of the Month they wrote. Without their talent, imagination, perseverance and passion, I would have less to read, both in quantity and quality.
I highly recommend the following author blogs:
I still love the heft of a heavy hardcover edition of a treasured classic epic fantasy … for about five minutes. I may have turned the final page of my last new hardcover. Any future purchases will be made solely to support a favorite author, with the hope of meeting the author and asking for their autograph on the title page. For the lion’s share of my reading, and to preserve both my weakening eyesight and the strain on my hands and arms, I will peruse the hundreds of novels and thousands of pages on my Nook Color ereader tablet, which is smart enough to turn off the light and mark my page when I doze off to sleep each night. Thanks again to my husband, for gifting me with this amazing product.
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I read this as part of the The Hunger Games Trilogy omnibus ebook edition.
I had high hopes for the final novel of the series, especially after thoroughly enjoying the second novel, Catching Fire. I agree with a few other GoodReads reviewers who stated that Collins accomplished her goal in painting the stark reality that war and violence accomplish nothing and apparently humans can’t help but repress and destroy each other, even unto their own extinction.
I also had hope of learning more about the history that led up to the rise of the Panem. But Collins only choose to go back three generations and only once or twice made a reference to the world before the rise of the Panem from the ashes of our civilization.
I suspect a nod to Ray Bradbury in the name of the sharp shooter squad District 13 assigned Katniss and Gale to as part of the rebel army. The prevalence of Ancient Roman names among the Capital citizens and a reference to ‘bread and circuses’ paints the Panem as a resurrected Roman Empire imploding faster than the original.
While predictable, the ending left me dissatisfied. I don’t feel comfortable recommending this book to young adults, even though Collins wrote it for that audience.
As a ‘former’ parent (my kids are grown, either married or in college), I would treat this entire trilogy just like an R-rated movie. Don’t read it unless you’re seventeen (sixteen maybe), mostly due to the violence and gore. Very little if any sexual content exists in any of these novels.
I read both of these books (the Lightouse Duology) back-to-back during the Spring of 2010. They came highly recommended from a respected author-friend, who also suggested I read them together as if they were published as one book. I heartily agree with that suggestion.
Flesh and Spirit by Carol Berg
4 of 5 stars
Read in February 2010
Superb storytelling, twisting plots, puzzles and mysteries, and an apocalyptic convergence made for an excellent and enjoyable read. If it weren’t for the press of other book club selections, I would immediately proceed to the second half of this duology, Breath and Bone.
Even though the story is told in the first person, by Valen, it flowed well. I struggled to connect with Valen, a fugitive from his family, constantly on the run and hiding for twelve long years. Magic is strictly registered and contracted among pureblood families and any offspring willful enough to escape the privilege are hunted down relentlessly.
Escaping a battle gone badly, set upon by his own comrade and left to die in a ditch, Valen wakes up in a monastery’s infirmary and claims two weeks sanctuary. Thinking he can hide out among the tonsured brothers, he resolves to join their ranks, vowing falsely to obey their Rule for the rest of his days.
Yet all is not prayer, singing, reading, scribing or toiling among these gentle quiet monks. Valen soon finds more than just the porridge is thickening in the unseasonable cold.
Highly recommended for lovers of fantasy, adventure and apocalyptic fiction.
4.5 out of 5 stars
Read in February 2010
Two worlds, symbiotically connected, only touching each other on the periphery of the senses, plagued by a scourge destroying the human realm which in turn shrinks and blinds the Danae realm. Can a cure be found? Can the world be healed?
But what sacrifice justifies the means? Does Osriel hold the answer in his pact with the ‘devil’? Does Silas’ goal to purge the world of all classes, races and knowledge, to reboot the world in her egalitarian vision offer the best hope? Or Valen, standing astride both worlds, perceiving the health just beyond his grasp, if only he can overcome his past and the obstacles and enemies in his present.
Beautiful world building, stunning prose, intriguing magic system (in both worlds), satisfyingly twisty plot and exceptionally well drawn, deep characters round out this remarkable conclusion to the Lighthouse series.
I highly recommend both Flesh and Spirit and this novel to all fantasy readers. I suggest they be read together, as one large volume.
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Read in October 2011
I read this in record time and surprised myself by liking it better than the first book, the Hunger Games. Katniss’ relationship with her family, friends and handlers evoked more emotions, believability and depth. The Victory Tour provided a glimpse of the wider world, showing me tantalizing bits of the various Districts and the ruins of civilization destroyed during the Dark Days seventy-years before.
I still find it hard to believe that fascism could survive so long. The unbearable inhumane conditions of the District ‘citizens’, the calculated cruelty of the Hunger Games, augmented in this novel by the Quarter Quell, a sadistic 25-year anniversary twist to the regular annual reaping of the rebel Districts’ youth. The cost in lives, and the sacrifices made, reflect a horror I hope we never forget from our own not-too-distant past.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Read in July 2009
I loved this book and yet at times I hated it. Several times it made me cry, nearly sobbing out loud. It never made me laugh and pricked me to anger often.
Katniss lives in District Twelve, an area devoted to coal mining in what was the Appalachian Mountains of North America. Her father died working in the mines and her mother suffered severe debilitating depression after his death. That left Katniss, at age twelve, to provide for her mother and her young sister, Prim. She sneaks out of the confines of District Twelve, underneath a tall electrified fence, to hunt and gather in the nearby woods, keeping them from starving – barely.
Continue reading “Book Review: The Hunger Games by Collins (3.5 Stars)”
