E-Readers

So this is something I've been thinking of writing about for almost a year.  I'm sure a lot of you have e-readers and love them, so I'm probably going to step on your toes, but I really don't like them.  I don't see the point of owning one, except to spend anywhere from $149 to $275 on a piece of technology nobody really needs.

E-books can be downloaded to your computer, laptop, I-Pad, netbook or phone.  So why lug around an e-reader too?  From a practicality standpoint, I would rather have a printed book.  I like the feel of a book in my hands.  I like the look of books on my shelves.  If I drop a book down the stairs, I just go down and pick it up, no harm done.  If I drop an e-reader down the stairs, I have to clean up a bunch of shattered plastic and buy another e-reader. 

Then there's the cost of e-books.  While some are free, most cost at least as much as a paperback.  So why not just buy a paperback?  If I buy an e-book, what do I have to show for my money?  Twenty years from now, the books on my shelves will still be readable and I won't have had to invest any more money to keep reading them, or pass them on to someone else.  Technology is constantly changing and what is new now will be obsolete and no longer functional in a few years.  After all, the computer I had ten years ago can't even get on the net anymore.  So I imagine if I want to keep up with e-books, I would have to keep investing in upgraded technology when the old becomes too slow to make the interface. 

I heard one person argue that e-readers were environmentally friendly because they don't use paper, save a tree and all that.  Please don't get me wrong, I love trees.  Forests are one of my favorite things in the world and I get very upset when I see a beautiful tree cut down for no reason.  BUT--The fact is that paper, and the trees it's made from, are a renewable resource.  Cut down a tree and a new one, or more, can be planted in its place.  Paper is also recyclable and bio-degradable, unlike the components of an e-reader, or a computer, cell phone, etc.  The batteries in these devices are quite toxic and do I really have to mention the manufacturing process from the acquisition of the raw materials on (strip mining for metals for example)?

So what is the point of having one more electronic gizmo tethered to us?  Paper is renewable, bio-degradable, recyclable, durable, portable, does not require batteries, has been around for thousands of years and will never become obsolete.  Wow, I don't know what you think, but that sounds like the perfect piece of technology to me.  I think I'll pass on the e-reader and spend my $149 dollars on a stack of new, PRINTED books instead.   

Valentine's Day

Okay, so this entry may seem a little late, but Valentine's Day is sort of still going on at my house.  We didn't have the money, or time to celebrate on Monday by going out to dinner or giving each other gifts, not even cheap ones.  None of that really matters much to either of us anyway.  So instead, I made a special dinner for us and we re-decorated our Christmas tree.  Yes, that's right, I said the Christmas tree.  Hay, it's white and has pastel lights on it so it serves double-duty.  We decorated it with pink paper hearts and wrote on each one either "I Love You Because..." or "My Happiness is..." and something personal.  

Do something special for the one you love every day.  Send a text, bring home a single rose, or make dinner even if all you know how to do is warm up canned soup.  My husband brought home bagels for breakfast so I wouldn't have to cook and made pizza rolls for dinner just last night and I love him more for it.  Showing someone you love them doesn't have to be pricey or difficult, as long as it's sincere.
 
My husband is from Louisiana so the decorations on the tree will shortly change over to the purple, gold and green of Mardi Gras, but I'm keeping the hearts.  I think we'll add to them next year.

Happy New Year!

Another year ends tonight and a whole new one starts tomorrow!

I don't make New Year's resolutions anymore.  I realized when I was a teenager that I was only setting myself up for failure and disappointment. It never occurred to me that maybe I had unrealistic ideals set for myself.  Like lose a ton of weight, become the most beautiful girl in school and make all the guys love me and the girls jealous.  Yeah, like that was ever going to happen.  Or swear to get straight A's.  In art class maybe.

All that stressing to achieve things that were unrealistic did nothing but make me very unhappy.  And the truth was, I didn't really want those things in the first place.  Okay, maybe I did want the straight A's, but tests always made me draw a blank so I knew it wouldn't happen.  But the rest of it was all simply to make others, family, friends, even strangers, happy with me.  So I was the one who was unhappy because changing yourself to make others happy always leads to heartache.

I actually kept the very last New Year's resolution I made: Never to make another New Year's resolution ever again.  No, from then on if something needed doing I would simply do it.  I don't make unrealistic demands on myself or others and I don't accept them either.  I don't rush important things just to get them done and I don't leave the simple stuff undone because I'm too busy.  Except for the dishes from the night before.  Well, and maybe some laundry, but you get the idea.

So, my wish for myself and all of you is simply this: Get real and be genuine.  Appreciate yourself, your family and every day you have just the way it is.  Fix problems as they arise and don't worry about what hasn't happened yet.  If you do, you'll miss a lot of great opportunities and unexpected pleasures in life. 

Take a moment to say "I love you" to your family members even if you're not really feeling it right then.  I promise you won't be sorry later and they'll remember it.  If you feel like yelling at your loved ones, hug them instead and see what happens.  Do one small thing everyday that makes you happy: listen to music, watch a favorite show, read a book, or grab a pint of your favorite ice cream.

And have a Happy New Year! 

New: Writer's Corner

I've added a new Writer's Corner.  It will feature original short stories by me and excerpts from my novels.  You'll find the link in the side bar to the right.  Just click on "Ink Well Writer's Corner" under the title Writer's Corner to take you right to it.  I hope you all enjoy the new addition.

New Art Gallery!

Please check out my new Art Gallery blog: Brush Strokes.  Just click the link in the sidebar to view a few of my art pieces.  More will be coming later so check back soon.

Fall

I love the fall.  It's my favorite season and though it doesn't officially end until December 22, October is the month that best encompasses the season.  The leaves change color to a vibrant display of orange, red and yellow.  Fall festivals feature treats like fresh cider, caramel apples and apple pie.  If you live in Ohio like I do, it's the one time of year when you can get sauerkraut pizza, sauerkraut fudge, and sauerkraut ice cream.  Neighborhood homes are decorated with pumpkins, corn stalks, scarecrows, and ghouls.  While some keep the fall decorations up until Thanksgiving, most around here take them down and start putting up Christmas decorations right after Halloween.  Fall seems to evaporate as we hop from one holiday to the next, but I try to hang on to it for as long as I can.

I'm never in a hurry to see fall's temperate weather go.  The cooler temperatures are perfect for taking long walks outdoors.  That little nip in the air gets my creative juices flowing and I've come up with some great ideas for stories and paintings in the fall.  I started walking through old cemeteries last year and got some spectacular pictures of the fall foliage.  I took the photograph above at Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati last fall and I plan to go back again this year.

So appreciate the season while it's here.  Find a festival or take a drive to a park or through the country on the weekends to look at the colors.  Enjoy yourself and don't forget the camera.

Cover Art

Cover art has been a hot topic off and on my favorite writer's forum (AQ Connect) for a while now.  As a writer and an artist I have a particular interest in cover art trends.  My art has never appeared on any covers, but I know a few artist whose work has.  Personally, I love to browse the shelves at the bookstore and look at the cover art.  When something catches my eye, I pick up the book and read the cover blurb to see if it's something I would like to buy.  I think most of us are the same way.  In fact, I  started reading my favorite book series because I loved the cover art.  I fell in love with the story with that first book and now it's a highly rated television series.  Since the series aired, the books are being re-released with new covers featuring the stars of the show.  I hate to say it, but the new covers just don't have the same appeal for me as the original cover art.  The photographic covers are beautifully done but have a plain, black background that simply doesn't attract my eye.  If the original covers had been like that, I doubt I would have noticed them on the shelf at all.  If I had, I don't know that I would have been interested enough to pick up the book and read the blurb.  In either case, I probably wouldn't have bought the entire series.  I realize that black, or white, covers are probably less expensive to produce, but the publishers need to remember that we are visual creatures.  Add a few bright colors to the cover, or at least the title, to draw our attention or the volumes begin to merge into one long, monochromatic blur and we walk away empty handed, as I have done many times.

I love books.  I prefer to buy my books so I can keep them forever and read them over and over again.  I love the look of rows of books in my book cases, their colorful spines turned out waiting for me to pick them up again, or for the first time since I bought them.  Nearly all of them are there because the cover art caught my attention first.  They say you can't judge a book by it's cover and this is true.  I've read some very bad books with great cover art.  But I bought the books, good or bad, because they stood out from the other books on the shelves.  I'm a writer myself and I hope to be published some day.  I just hope I get a great cover.  Maybe they'll let me do my own.