EReader recommendations for those with vision problems...

A friend asked me if I had any thoughts on which eReader might be more suitable for a person who has vision problems.


Truthfully, any eReader will likely be good for such a situation. With books, they are either in a format with large type or they aren't. With an eReader it is easy to adjust the font size and style to one that you are comfortable with. It was a good question though and it merited some research. I wanted to advise her well and with more than a generic suggestion.


In my search I found this site which I think substantiates the user's explanation thoughtfully. And so, Barnes and Noble's NOOK products come out just ahead of Kindle.


http://tinyurl.com/PCWorldOnEReaderResolution (Click at the top right of the  page to skip the ad)


"Trade books, mass-market books, textbooks, magazines, newspapers, and children's books all look and function better on the Nook Tablet than on the Kindle Fire.

The Nook Tablet's viewing options in a book.Both tablet's screens have a resolution of 1024 by 600 pixels, which limits how sharp the text they display can be. But the Nook Tablet's screen is less reflective than Kindle Fire's; the LCD is bonded to the glass, which mitigates reflection and increases contrast and sharpness. In comparison, I often encountered glare on the Kindle Fire's display.

I looked at the same magazines and books on each device, and the Nook Tablet was the clear overall winner at rendering text. At comparable font sizes, text on the Nook Tablet looked crisper than on the Kindle Fire.

In presenting standard books, the Nook Tablet offered more meaningful viewing choices. Though both tablets provide eight font-size options, the sizes on the Nook are more useful. It's definitely better for readers who need large type."

I charged our boys' NOOKs so that they are ready for Christmas morning. (My initial review of NOOK Tablet.)

Boy, oh boy, are these boys going to be excited!

MB just turned 11

ED is about to turn 10

We have a houseful of kids. Along with that comes a houseful of books and technology.


Our 16 year old son has an iTouch. He also has an XBox and all the lovely gadgets that accompany that. He also hopes that we'll be helping him choose and share in the cost of a car soon; just have to find the right one.


Our 15 year old daughter has already received an iPhone 3 as her Christmas present for this year. I gave it to her immediately because I was anxious to get it set up and assure it was working properly. Previously I thought the data plans for phones were too expensive. She agreed to pay for the phone if we would pay for her data plan for a year. We decided that was fair. She uses the phone to record the details of her illness because it affects her daily life. It has been a useful resource in storing information and having it handy when we go to her medical appointments.


Our 5 year old daughter isn't interested in technology this year. She received a vReader last year for Christmas and uses it frequently. She's asking Santa for an American Girl doll for Christmas this year.




Back to the boys. They both really enjoy reading. Right after Christmas 2010 MB started saving his money to purchase a NOOK Color. This year they were both going to put that on the top of their Christmas lists. Then Barnes and Noble came out with the new NOOK Tablet. It didn't take long for their lists to be altered.


I've been researching eReaders for a long time. I was excited to get my hands on a NOOK Tablet to see if it was really all I expected.


Let me tell you...it is!


This week I spent two afternoons getting them set up. I visited our present closet and pulled everything out. I locked myself in my room. I was eventually joined by our five year old who is doing a wonderful job of keeping secrets this year!


I knew that I wanted to at least get both NOOK Tablets charged. I also wanted to charge the NOOK Simple Touch that has been purchased for me as a Christmas gift.


I found the devices very straightforward in functionality.


The anti-glare screen protectors went on smoothly.


I plugged them in, one at a time, and charged them by hiding them behind my husband's night stand.  Charging seemed to take much less time than I expected!


I linked both devices to my existing B&N account. I was happy to find that there is a "Kids" tab that the boys can go to in order to find all of the juvenile book titles! 


I easily found how to set the devices to require my B&N password in order to make a purchase! 


In no time at all I was being sucked in by the NOOK Tablets. I didn't really expect that. I love my eInk. I've mentioned that here time and time again. I really had to do some thinking. Did I want to keep the NOOK Simple Touch for myself or return it at a much greater cost and buy myself a NOOK Tablet also?


I have decided that for now I am going to keep the NST. The boys are in school all day. If I want to borrow one of the NOOK Tablets while they are at school that won't be a problem. This way I still have an eReader that operates with eInk. I find that important mostly because I read a LOT during the summer at the pool, or at the beach if we are fortunate enough to vacation at a beach. EInk screens are as easy to read in sunlight as a printed page, unlike a lighted screen.


I did struggle in making that decision. Ultimately, I already own an iPhone 4 so I have the functionality of a tablet in smart-phone-form at hand. Besides, I only paid $79 for my NST because of the Black Friday price break.


When I bought my original NOOK, Hubs asked me what I thought about it. My reply was that I liked it so much I was confident it wouldn't be my last eReader. I already knew that as the technology marched forward I would want to follow along. And so our family is following. I'm sure I will eventually upgrade again.


For now I can say that I am thrilled with the NOOK Tablets. I know our boys will be too. If any of you are buying eReaders as Christmas gifts I suggest charging them ahead of time, as I did. If you run into any complications or have questions, ask me. If I can't help, we can surely find the answer somewhere.


Happy reading!

Do you own Christmas-themed books? Do you have a place for them?

The last few years I've been collecting our seasonal books and putting them away with the Christmas decorations each year. I've found it feels wonderful to know that you will be able to find the book you are looking for at Christmastime.


Up until now the books have been in a small box in the attic until they are brought down for our enjoyment.


Last week I could take it no longer. I kept trying to find a place to put the books. The box wasn't going to agree with me as a long-term solution. With seven people in our household there was just no table space available. It didn't take me long to decide that I what I needed was a special bookcase just for our Christmas treasures.


I had a particular store in mind. That's where I went. Home Goods. I haven't been in a Home Goods store since before we moved to England. I can't recall why buy Hubs went to one not too long ago and arrived home saying "Hey, there's this neat store I think you'd like..." Yes, I do like it.


We were in a bit of a hurry the afternoon we went shopping. We walked in and went straight to the tables and shelves and immediately found exactly what I was looking for. It's perfect. It's compact; two shelves. It can easily be moved to other locations in the house if I choose to place it elsewhere in the future. After Christmas is over I plan to send it right up to the attic, along with the Christmas books so that it doesn't become overtaken by other books.

Christmas book suggestions...

I've decided to post Christmas book suggestions this month.


The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden

This is the story of a little girl who yearns for a doll and a grandmother. It's also the story of a woman who years for a child of her very own. Heartwarming.








Those wishing to teach their children about St. Nicholas might find this lovely book helpful:


The Real Santa Claus: Legends of Saint Nicholas by Marianna Mayer

We are going to see Hugo today!

The film adaptation of The Invention of Hugo Cabret has recently hit cinemas. It's titled as simply as "Hugo".

We are excited to see whether they capture the true magic of this book on film. We'll go to dinner and then the show...or the show and then a late dinner. It's a family day. My husband and I will be joined by our five kids and our oldest son's girlfriend. Phooey. I just realized we should have invited the girlfriend of another of our sons but our van is already at capacity...


Read my review of the book here:
http://tinyurl.com/HugoMovieAdaptationReview

Black Friday sale on NOOK Simple Touch today only for $79.

If you haven't bought a basic eReader yet but want one, this deal should catch your attention.

The NOOK Simple Touch is a basic eReader. It's an update from the previous, original NOOK eReader. It has only one screen; a touchscreen. The extended two-year warranty is only $19.99 for full protection from nearly anything except loss or theft.

I already purchased mine, a week ago. I took my receipt into the store after I figured all of today's crowds had passed. At the register the clerk refunded my original purchase price and re-rang it for the reduced sale price. I saved a nice twenty bucks!

I made up my mind about eReaders for our kids for Christmas.

My two little guys don't tune into my blog so I'm safe to say that when I visited Barnes and Noble on the 17th to check out the NOOK Tablet I decided it was the right fit for both of them.


Our boys are turning 10 and 11 in the next few weeks. Both really enjoy reading. 


I chose the NOOK Tablet and not the Kindle Fire because:
I have already purchased B&N ebooks.
I love Netflix.
I like Barnes & Noble's business philosophy.


I think the Kindle Fire would be a completely acceptable alternative and it can be had for $50 less. Amazon is a great company; we do a lot of business with them since we have five kids. I could also stream movies for free as part of the pre-paid shipping package (Prime) membership that we purchased. Amazon treats the Kindle products as more of a vending machine of sorts than it appears B&N does.


For one son I purchased this: Tasume in Carbon.
It's a cover and a stand, all in one. The red Tasume looks a bit feminine; that wouldn't do. The white, I think, would become incredibly dirty. I went with carbon.


For the other I purchased this: Travel Stand for NOOK Color or NOOK Tablet.
I purchased this cover for him: Franklin Sleeve.
The Franklin Sleeve is attractive Italian synthetic leather with a nylon interior. The corner tab can be secured through the device's corner slot to prevent the cover from coming off when being transported.


Of course they'll be able to trade if they wish, as the NOOK Color and NOOK Tablet are the same dimensions. 


I purchased anti-glare screen protectors for both, to prevent screen scratches.


I know they are going to be so excited about receiving these!

Plainfield Library to host an eReader showcase Nov 30 7-8:30 pm.

Representatives from Best Buy and Barnes and Noble will be at the library to answer questions and demonstrate eReaders.


Learn how to borrow eBooks from the library.


They are also holding a raffle.


November 30
7-8:30 PM
15025 S Illinois St
Plainfield, IL 60544
815-436-6639


Plainfield Library eReader Showcase 2011

NOOK Tablet Available in Stores

The new NOOK Tablet hit stores a day earlier than expected!

Our daughter and I popped into a B&N store today to check it out. The store is busy. I spent some time with one of the managers who told me that they have already received a second shipment. Still, buying early is always a good idea with Christmas around the corner. You wouldn't want to miss an opportunity to get your hands on one of these if it's in the wish list of someone you love.


The Christian Science Monitor feels the NOOK Tablet comes out ahead of the Kindle Fire.


The manager was also telling me about how to change the digital format of films that have already been purchased, so that they can be made viewable on NOOK devices that support video. I'll report back with more on that when I have the information in front of me.


For now, happy shopping.

Oxford English Dictionary to follow the times...

In a smart move, the English Oxford Dictionary is going to approve some modern-day abbreviations.


Brand Champions (source)


In general, I am a full-supporter of good, old English. 
I capitalize sentences; and proper names. I also punctuate. 
I don't use text-type when typing texts. 
I don't substitute "U" for "You" or "2" for "to/too" or "UR" for "Your/You're".


If you receive a text or see a Facebook posting from me that utilizes such things you can pretty much figure there's a real emergency going on in my life.


I do, however, utilize only a handful of frequently used acronyms that I learned from other forum-using homeschool mommies over the years. 
Typing a well-known acronym in place of a few or several words saves time.


Are you familiar with these?


IMO
IMHO
IDK
IYKWIM
AAMOF
BRB
MIL
FIL
BIL
SIL
DH
DD
DS
IRL
TMI
WTH
JK
BTW
SAHM
MTC
FWIW
HTH
CMA
NLYG
ICBINB


Need some help with learning acronyms or text-type?
Webopedia ~ scroll down the page


Do you use acronyms when texting or posting online? Do you use test-type?