Saving Fish From Drowning by Amy Tan

I really wasn't sure about reading this book but I enjoyed it!

~~
Here is the book blurb:

"Bibi Chen is dead.
And she wants to tell you a story.

Busineswoman, patron of the arts and socialite Bibi Chen has been killed in mysterious circumstances. Her death may or may not be linked to the disappearance of eleven American tourists in southern Burma. They are "Following Buddha's Footprints" along the Burma Road, on an expedition dreamt up by Bibi. But when her body is found just days before the departure date, they go without her. Robbed of their guide, it isn't long before the travellers stumble into difficulty with wary tribes and the military junta.

Seduced by notions of Shangri-La, and oblivious to the cautionary cries from the watchful presence of Bibi, they continue on their ill-fated journey, becoming ever more lost in the heart of the Burma jungle ~ where a desperate tribe await their saviour...

~~~

Since the book is about 13 people the author had to take the time to intruduce the characters to the reader and that took a while. I didn't have too much trouble remembering the traits of each character though, they were each different enough. As I read this book I experienced the same thoughts the author is investigating in her writing: all actions, even the best, have side effects which weren't intended and are undesired. Is it ever possible to truly choose the best option?

Amy Tan is also the author of The Joy Luck Club which I have not yet read.

I love seeing the differences between American and British versions of books.

My particular book happens to be a British version as I bought it while we were living there. I prefer its cover...but then again it's MINE and I do believe that affects our affinity to our books.

Developments with regard to ebooks and library lending...

This economy has hit hard. Everywhere.

I am the mom of five kids. When my husband and I sat down last year to really investigate our budget I was stunned to realize how much money I was spending on reading. We lived in England from August 2007 to December 2009. Our budget allowed us to pretty much do as we pleased while we were living there; we were so blessed. In 2010, back in the US, after we analyzed our budget for the year I found that I was spending as much as $80 a month on books sometimes. That's a lot of money. I decided, on my own, that I would reel myself in to some degree.                                    I'll remark on my success with that at the end of this post.

For now, let's get on with the topic at hand:

Ebooks and Library Lending

The propagation of digital books appeared to be the miraculous incarnation of eternal life for literature.


Then Harper Collins realized that there was an avenue that could be exploited.
The decided to limit the number of times an ebook could be lent.


HarperCollinsEBookRestrictions


At first thought, this seems reasonable...
A physical book will eventually wear out.


But how soon?
I began to wonder about actual statistics on this and decided to look for some real answers.
I found this wonderful video, created by two librarians. It substantiates that traditional books really do last longer than you'd have ever imagined. I know I'm amazed.


ChallengingHarperCollinsRestrictions


I no longer feel that Harper Collins' restriction holds water.
America's libraries do so much to aid in the education of our people.
I'll tell you that I don't generally support the raising of taxes in America. This country was originally created because of taxation without representation and so it boggles my mind that we've allowed ourselves to be taxed so heavily. One type of tax that I will always consider though is taxes that allow for library expansion ad renovation...
~~~
Now...I ask you...isn't that depressing?


And so, what can we do about this situation?


OpenLetterToHarperCollins


If you would like to contact HarperCollins directly, they have set up an email address:


Library.eBook@HARPERCOLLINS.com


Honestly, I do believe that publishers may experience a decrease in revenue due to the creation of ebooks and the quickly increasing population of ereader owners. I know that the cost of ebooks is actually a lot higher than I think many were led to believe they would be. I know it's caused me to recently decide that I'd like to find a way to analyze the cost of popular ebooks over time. I have a belief that as the initial popularity of a book slowly decreases, the price will also.


Perhaps this is a legitimate situation in which an independent agency should evaluate the market to determine how best to keep publishers, writers, and libraries in business...as well as making it possible for individuals, like me, to still afford to read.


Now...back to my personal success in lowering my reading-related expenses...


I've read 22 books so far this year.



3 were downloaded from Gutenberg
2 were books bought in 2010 
1 was borrowed from my sister
6  were borrowed from the library
4 were previous purchases
1 was a previous ebook purchase
5 were library ebooks
22

Have you wondered about reading books using a "smart phone"?

I bought an iPhone 4 about six weeks ago.


My second phone in about 15 months was about ready to die, as the previous one had.
I decided I needed a more reliable phone.


I mostly need a phone to be a phone; a way to be contacted reliably.
We have five children. That's enough reason, huh?


Of course as soon as I had my phone I downloaded all kinds of reader apps.
I am not more impressed by any one particular app than others. They all pretty much do the same thing; allow you to read books on the screen of your phone.


I read parts of Bill Bryson's "At Home" on my phone last month. I knew I could do that so I purposely left home without my NOOK once in a while so I would have to use my phone to read.


I found that I really do not enjoy reading on my phone.
It's just too small.
I also found that the lighted screen appears to be much harder on my eyes than the eInk screen of my original NOOK.


I am certainly glad that my phone can be used in that capacity.
I won't be switching to my phone for reading though. I'll only use it when it becomes necessary to do so.

October Sky by Homer Hickam

I love a good true story.  The movie, same title, is a favorite of ours too.





Homer H. Hickam, Jr. had dreams...and he wasn't about to remain in Coalwood, West Virginia. The town was dying, as do miners from the day they set foot into mines. Homer's father, however, was the superintendent of the mine. Fighting your father for the right to your own future can be a very big deal. Sputnik 1 raced across the "October Sky" and grabbed the interest of everyone but especially the interest of Homer and a few of his friends. 


Supporting the dreams of  Homer and his friends was Miss Riley, their chemistry and physics teacher. 

She urged them to enter a national science fair in 1960. The "Rocket Boys" won gold and silver medals for their work in propulsion. Later, Hickam served in the Vietnam War for the US Army. He worked as an engineer for the army and then for NASA. He was also a scuba instructor and has written about that as well as about war-related topics. Sky of Stone is another non-fiction book of his, a follow-up project to October Sky.  Hickam also works as an amateur paleontologist and to his credit are the finds of two tyrannosaur dinosaurs. He has written a fictional novel titled The Dinosaur Hunter. 

October Sky was made into a film in 1999. The film runs extremely true to the book. I was quite impressed by both. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the role of Homer Hickam. Chris Cooper plays his father, while Laura Dern plays Miss Riley. October Sky is also an anagram of "Rocket Boys", the initial title of Hickam's manuscript, which was changed by studio executives as the book was adapted to film. It was felt that the new name would bring with it a broader viewing audience. I imagine that proved to be true.

At Home by Bill Bryson

What an incredible book!


I have to say that I am a fan of Bill Bryson's writing. I qualify that because I once tried to listen to him read one of his own titles as an audibook. He writes with such great humor but, boy, did he put me to sleep when he read! I had figured he'd be an amazing reader of his own books. Ah well... 


I find him quite funny as a writer. He easily bounces from thing to thing. In this book he certainly has a million and one opportunities for doing so! The whole book is about ONE single topic, the home. The book explores from the time of the earliest homes on earth up to modern day. On the way he looks at just about every possible related topic too!


If you like conversations that meander from topic to topic then this is a book you should pick up!
Bryson begins atop the house he lives in and while tracing its past he goes from room to room in his story-telling. As he discusses the roles of each room he also discusses related topics to each room.





Let me see if I can think of a few of the things explored in the book:


telephones and their place in the home
heating of homes
home libraries
gardening by gardeners and then by homeowners and...even (gasp) women
mice and other pests around the house
and of course the bedroom


~~~I only wish I had the ability to go through my notes for this book and post more in-depth. Again, this was a selection I checked out from our library's ebook lending service. Once the lending period for the book you are reading expires...so do your notes. (Unless you choose to renew it and are able to.) Unfortunately, when my book went *poof* so did my bookmarks and highlights and notes.




At 512 pages this selection is a pretty hefty one. It isn't filled with quite as much humor as most of Bryson's books are. Still, I enjoyed it a lot.

The long weekend...

So, it's Memorial Day here in the US; a time to recall to memory those who have served for our freedoms. 


I don't have any thematically-related reading to do but I did recently finish reading The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. I am considering reading this at some point and might just begin it this weekend if I can get to that point: 
Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory 
by Ben Macintyre

Aside from that I need to work on finishing reading A Tale of Two Cities. I am only 1/3 of the way through so far but like it okay. I now recall having read it in middle school. It's funny that I managed to forget some of the titles we read but recall others... I didn't like reading anything back then. I wonder why some books stuck in my memory and others didn't...

I read a sample download of a book from B&N yesterday but it costs $12.99 to purchase. I haven't bought any books so far this year and am reluctant to break that trend. With my record so far it really stands out to me how much $12.99 is for one book. I think I will wait and request it from our library. They will purchase two books a month for each person making requests!

What are your reading plans this weekend?

I went to Barnes and Noble today.

I went to Barnes and Noble today.

I had our youngest daughter with us. Somehow we managed to leave the store without spending any money and she wasn't even aware that I just ordered two Beatrix Potter books through Paperbackswap for her today.

I happened to be out doing some errands...I saw the B&N and figured I might as well drop in.
Of course I was hoping the new eink NOOK was in the store so that I could compare it to mine...
It wasn't.

The new model will be in stores as of 10 June.

As I continue to look at the specs for it, even without seeing an actual example, I wouldn't hesitate to reccomend it. If you want a dedicated reader and you don't plan to use it for internet surffing or gaming, then I really think it will prove to be a nice model. The improved eink Pearl Technology will proide an even crisper format for reading. Reading outdoors will be as simple as reading from a book while outdoors.

NOOKComparisonGuide

New NOOK announced!

It's been announced, folks!


An updated e-ink NOOK. Smoother page turns and better page contrast. $139.


NewNOOKInfo1






NewNOOKInfo2


Any thoughts?
If you don't own an ereader has this enticed you?
I think our son is still waiting for a NOOK Color.

SALE on NOOK original

http://tinyurl.com/NewNOOKsOnSaleOnEbay

Barnes and Noble is selling new, not refurbished, NOOK Originals on ebay for $99. 
This is not the 3G version. 
This model is still being selled through B&N on their webiste for $149.

http://tinyurl.com/BNNOOKNot3G

Further to that NOOK rumor...

Here is an online article from someone who seems certain the B&N announcement will be with regard to an updated NOOK Original. Sounds interesting, if so. I've felt , for a while, that B&N might forget about the NOOK Original, given the great success of the NOOK Color. If this ends up being improvements to their first product I think that's great! Color models are fabulous, really. There will always be a place for eink displays though, especially if that place is in the sun!


http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/2011/05/21/nook-2-what-features-does-the-new-nook-have/


I am eager to find out what all the fuss is about!


~~~

And...that announcement has been made:


TheNOOKAnnouncement