Have you I mentioned to you all that Jason is the best guy ever? He has gotten me two bookish gifts recently. Two things I've wanted for a very long time. For Valentine's Day he got me a reading pillow. I mentioned this on my first Best Gifts for English Majors post and I never got one. I was so excited to open it on Valentine's Day and I've already gotten a lot of use out of it.
This is perfect for reading in bed at night. I don't have to hold the book up so my arms don't get tired-- a major problem with reading in bed. I just put the pillow in my lap, hold the book open and read away. You can order these Peeramid Bookrests on Amazon if you're interested. They are hard to find.
He also got me a great t-shirt from the greatest store in world, Raygun. Raygun is a local thing, they make great t-shirts about towns in Iowa because those of us who love Iowa love to show our pride. Someone else really liked Iowa, especially the girls that live there...
Yeah, that's right, Jack Kerouac. I've wanted this shirt for a long time since On the Road is one of my all time favorite books. Sigh. I'm just so happy I have this shirt. If you're not from Des Moines you'll probably find it less exciting, so thanks for humoring me.
In other news, it's midterms which means I have way too much crap going on this week. I have several books to make, a paper to write, a presentation, and an exam. Blargh. I'm really looking forward to spring break, even if I'm only dog-sitting. Lots of time to read and relax. In my lifelong attempt to make you all read essays I posted a three sentence essay yesterday! You should all go read it! I even challenged you to write your own and so far one person has taken the challenge.
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Over the summer I purchased a Nook and promised I would write a review about it, but it's taken me until now to really figure out what I like and don't like about it. I'll just start this off by telling you all that I don't regret buying my Nook at all. I think most people know about the main features of the Nook. Mine isn't the touch screen, it's the original digital ink version. I really like the digital ink except for when you turn the page the screen turns black while the letters rearrange themselves. It's a minor thing, but I do find it annoying after long periods of time. Instead of talking about the features of the Nook, which you can find out for yourself on Barnes and Noble's website, I'm going to talk about how I use my Nook and why I'm glad I have an ereader.
I bought my Nook to read books I wouldn't necessarily want print copies of-- and since I'm pretty cheap when it comes to ebooks that is mostly what I've used it for. I refuse to pay price of a physical book for an ebook. I would rather have the actual book in my hands than have a digital version of it. Maybe I'll change my mind over time, but for now that is how I feel about it. Since I mostly buy copies of books I wouldn't necessarily want a physical version of my Nook has a lot of YA books, romance novels, and galleys. One of the ways I use my Nook is to read while I'm working out. I set it on the elliptical machine and all I have to do is push a button when I want to turn the page. It doesn't interfere with my exercise at all, and it's just one extra way I can zone out. Right now I'm reading Ninth Key (The Mediator, Book 2)
, which is a bit of a mystery, and I find myself wanting to work-out longer to read what happens next. By reading a book while exercising I can finish an extra book every couple weeks.
Reading in the car has always made me carsick, but for some reason reading on my Nook does not. I think it's because it's easier for me to control the movement of the book in my hands, whereas when I read a physical copy my arms jump around so much it's hard for me to focus on the words in the book. Reading in the car is the first thing that got me really excited about having a Nook because I've always wanted to be able to do it.
My favorite Nook story is from last semester. I decided I wanted to write a paper about The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee
and I needed the book in a few days. None of my local bookstores had it so my only option was to order the book online, which would take at least a few days to get at my house and put my paper writing off. I decided to buy the ebook version of it and had it in just a few minutes. I was able to finish the book in two days and got my paper finished on the day it would have arrived had I ordered it. If you need a book quickly, an ereader is a really convenient, fast way to get it.
I thought I would use my Nook a lot more than I have, but the truth is that I'm still extremely attached to physical books. I'll take a physical book over an ebook any day, but like I said earlier, there are books where having the ebook makes more sense for me. I do think I am able to read more books because of the ereader because I can read in places I wouldn't have read in before (like the gym) and I'm able to read books I wouldn't have otherwise read in public (like romance novels in my parents' house). An ereader is not an either or decision, you can have physical books and ebooks, and you can pick and choose how you want to read certain books. I personally like the Nook a lot, but it's really my only ereader experience so I can't compare it to other ereaders very well.
Do you have an ereader? Which one do you have? What do you like about it?
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Ever since I saw the Moleskine Passions Book Journal I was overcome with lust. I decided to purchase it as a gift to myself for my hard work during midterms (and hopefully I worked as hard as I thought I did!). I've never been a huge fan of Moleskines, mostly because they carry a pretty hefty price tag and I don't take notes very often. I normally just takes notes inside the book I'm reading when I have a thought, and I don't every have my Moleskine when I want to take a note down about something I want to write or read. But I think this Book Journal might have changed my entire view on Moleskine.
This book is so organized, which I love. The book pages are in alphabetical order and on each page there is a space for the title, author, nationality, publisher, dates read, first edition (y/n), year, original language, awards, notes, quotes, and final opinion plus rating. So essentially everything I want to remember about a book after I read it. I really think this is going to help me stay organized for reviews as well. I haven't reviewed a book I've written about in here yet, but I have finished a book and filled out a page. I can already see a huge difference in how I read. And here is the really amazing thing, I have not left home without my journal since I bought it. I cannot even explain how amazing that is. There have been days where I thought to myself, "Eh, I won't really need that today," but then I always reconsider and end up slipping it in my bag.
At the back of the book there are sections where you can name your own tabs. So far I have tabs for Bookshops, Magazines, Readings & Signings, and Podcasts. The first four of those were labels that came with the book that I chose, but the last one I made myself with a blank tab. Following the tabs are more blank pages, which you could use for a never ending list of things. I'm using them for a Wish List and a List of Books Read in 2010.
My favorite thing about this journal though is probably the fold out compartment in the back. Here I can keep receipts for books, the labels that came with the book, recommendations, random notes, bookmarks, and whatever else I want. Another great quality is the book has three bookmark ribbons to mark three different important pages at any time. This is especially helpful since I'm usually reading a few books at a time, so I can keep my in progresses marked for quick notetaking!
I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.
