So Many Ways to Scratch My Book Itch

         

          There are many ways to meet my book fix and make my to-be-read pile comfortably overwhelming. Many options are available, whether I like paper or digital, purchased or free. I embrace them all.

          In the last two years, I’ve moved twice. Before the first of the two moves from New Jersey to Florida, I downsized from a large three-story house where the entire second floor was all mine. I decided I could only keep what would fit in my van. I gave away hundreds of real books. In my second move, I still had three boxes of books. These included the cardboard children’s book of Ashenputtel (Cinderella,) the original Grimm’s version, that I received at the age of three, a couple of inherited prayer books from the 1800s in Old High German, signed copies of books authored by friends, and copies of my own novels. These are my treasures.

Then, there’s my Kindle account. Amazon sure knew what I was addicted to when they created this monster. I have 622 digital books. Access to them is 24/7 and anywhere that strikes my fancy. I have a Kindle device, which is perfect for reading in the sunshine outside or at night lying in bed. The light, text size, and font adjust for my old eyes and energy level. It has a font called OpenDyslexic, which I use to read without closing one eye when the orbs go all cross-eyed from fatigue. I’ll be thrilled when it shows I’ve reached the end of the page, and it turns it for me, you know, for those three am reading sessions.
     I have another 216 books in my Audible account. I like to listen to books when I can’t sleep at night. It’s like having an old friend with me. I prefer books while I’m driving.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been reading for as long as I can remember. Whether it was the back of cereal boxes, movie end credits, or road signs and billboards, I always needed something to read. My cell phone ensures I am never without it. 
     I have access to history, biographies, and classic literature. Wikipedia can take me to so many places. I recently learned about Enhedusnna, a Mesopotamian priestess who was the first named author over four thousand years ago. With the provided links at the bottom of the article, I found many more sites that expanded on the topic.
Short Fiction Break and poets dot org both offer reads sent to your email. Project Gutenberg has over 70,000 free e-books of older great literature, usually where U.S. copyright has expired. And I have a library card, so even more e-books are available.
     These options make it easy for me to spend all my time reading, and I refuse to apologize.

This Reading Life

     I plan to do more reading in 2021. Over the last few years, life exhausted me, so I found I stopped doing things that feed my soul, which is not the way to go about things. I tend to shut down and zone out, and I want to change that. Unfortunately, I can’t think when I get like that, so I have to make plans and lists that don’t require input; just do. It is incredible how empty I can make my mind.

Here’s my reading list for January 2021:

Simple. The top half is E-Books that I read anywhere. The bottom four are paper books that I read while couch potatoing. (Believe it or not, spell check recognizes those underlined words.) I bore easily, so this gives me multiple sensory experiences, various ways to read for all possible locations, and the ability to go slower and faster depending on the work.

My minimum quantity of reads each month will be a classic work of fiction, a contemporary piece of fiction, a writer’s book, and nonfiction work.

You can find my book reviews at Nessa’s Reading Room. I finished The Bell Jar last week, and I posted my review.

Oh, and you may have noticed that my book, Revena’s Revenge, is at the bottom of the list. Yes, I am reading my book because I will finish revising the damn thing and publish it this year. I swear.

Summary on Sunday

I've decided to resurrect my blogs in 2020. I have a fair few.

On Fridays, you'll find new installments to the tale of Sean the Vampire and his love / hate relationship with Doctor Death as they try to rid the world of baddies. 

I started this adult fairytale back in 2010. Consistency is the key to getting things done. There a currently four episodes. There's blood and guts and all kinds of perversions, so be warned.

It's been years since I've read. Life can really get in the way of even the most basic of wants and needs. I hope to read an average of one book a week in 2020. You will find what I'm reading and what I think about the books over at Nessa's Reading Room. Two books down so far.

Editing is not my favorite thing. It's like real work. But I am doing final edits on Revena's Revenge (my daughter, Erika, is my accountability coach and cheering section.) I'm a quarter of the way done. I will be self-publishing when they are all done. For a taste of Revena's world, there's the blog, "What Would Revena Do?" (big thanks to my friend, Mike Keren, for the spectacular idea.) There will be posta there on certain Wednesdays about life in Medieval Bavaria. 

This coming Wednesday, we will see an example of scrying. Right now, you can see the book cover.

If you'd like to receive my monthly email, Nessa's News, sign up over there on the right. In it you will find practical magic spells, herbal lore, ancients crafts, and other things that will not be posted online.

Book Review: The Prague Cemetery

I finished reading a book. It's been about 3 years since I've had the energy. Who woulda thunk it?

The Prague Cemetery
by Umberto Eco

I gobbled up The Name of the Rose when it came out in 1980.

It took me 15 months to get through The Prague Cemetery.

The narrative device of two men speaking to each other via journal entries in the same diary fascinated me but it got lost in the great preponderance of names from history. Every person named in the book, except the main narrator, was a real person. I looked them up.

The story of how the fictitious / fake Protocols of the Elders of Zion became a conspiracy theory and reality for some people that led to Hitler's atrocities while intriguing got lost in the excessive details. The exhaustive minutiae exhausted me.

I worked my way through to the end because the history was compelling but it was work.

Other books read in 2019:

Brief Answers to the Big Questions - Stephen Hawking

White Hot: A Hidden Legacy Novel - Ilona Andrews

Iron and Magic (The Iron Covenant Book 1) - Ilona Andrews

SAVE THE CAT! Writes a Novel - Jessica Brody

Blue Skies

* comments closed on journal posts *

I found my NEO. I am surprised. I have to finish my office/studio. I am a secret 2nd story hoarder. It’s a place where I put things when I just don’t know what to do with it or I’m too lazy to put it away properly. Boxes and bags of material and craft items and books and books and books. It’s also storage for The Snoogs’ things. Her items include lots of books, too. No one QV is afraid the ceiling will come down on us. If they can do a whole really messy house in one weekend on the Hoarders, I should be able to easily do it this weekend. There are things up there I completely forgot I have. I could do about 500 projects without having to buy anything new.

I feel a tickle in my throat when I woke up this morning. If I get sick from all of my trips to the hospital I will be pissed. My father thinks he’ll be going home today. He told my brother that two different doctors told him he’d be leaving. Since he still had his catheter in at 15.00 yesterday, I’m not so sure. He has a tendency to hear what he wants to hear. He’ll be 82 next month and mostly acts like my three year old MM. He needs to come home soon though. All of these trips to the hospital are wearing my mother out. She’ll be 79 next month and is riddle with arthritis and can’t really walk much. Her mental faculties are so hot either. She claims my father has a mild case of alzheimer's but she shows more signs of it. They both still live in their own home together and usually do very well. My father still drives. They just have trouble when they get tired yet they sometimes refuse to rest.

The rain finally stopped. Today it is clear and sunny but very cold.

The Codes is itching again and we will have to take him back to the vet for his itchy pills. He did go about two or three months without itchy. And it’s been a year since he had problems with his ears. It is hard to believe that just last year his other vet was trying to guilt us into cutting his ear canals and rerouting them to “cure” him. His new vet gave him a different medicine and we haven’t had a problem since. The thousands of dollars and hours of time and angst we spent before just pisses me off. I am so glad we got a second opinion.

Game of Thrones is back on next week I can’t wait. The previews look so good. I am re-reading book one, Fire and Ice.

I am trying to figure out how I can write while doing other things.

My mother complained the other day about my reading while we were endlessly waiting at the hospital. She said it was rude. I should be talking to her. I had to remind her that I’m not much of a chatter. If she had anything to say to me I would participate in the conversation (I can read and write while being interrupted no problem.) She said since we are mother/daughter we should be able to talk without problem. I said one would think after all these years, she’d accept who I am and stop trying to change me. I’m not holding my breath.

577

Me and My Kindle

I have mentioned before that I love my Kindle. I didn’t think I would but it increases the pleasure of reading.

I get new books at the snap of a finger. The machine is lighter than most books. I can read with one hand (excellent when lying in bed.) The text size is adjustable for my old, tired eyes. The screen’s lighting and contrast is also eye friendly. And I love trees.

I still buy books. There are certain books that I have to have in paper. My husband thought I’d give up paper books once I had a Kindle. He gets a tad flustered when a new book sneaks past the front door and into my hands (yes, they force themselves upon me.)

To see my Kindle reading list so far, go to Nessa’s Reading Room.

* This has not been a paid post but Amazon should give me some free books. I think I'll ask.

      

Boy Meets Girl in 55

Derek pushed and shoved his buddies as they stood in line at the theater.


The boys laughed as Cindy, Derek’s crush from math class, fell to the ground in front of them.


Derek held out his hand to help her up.


He ignored his buddies' jests as he bought Cindy's ticket and escorted her inside.

Flash 55 is hosted by G-Man (Mr. Knowitall). The idea is to write a story in exactly 55 words. If you want to take part pop over and let G-man know when you’ve posted your 55. Thanks G-man for hosting.

Some additional Kindle notes:

The battery life is very long with a fairly short recharge period.

It is extremely portable, light and thin. Plus, I can carry three or four books without throwing out my back.

My husband got it for me because he thinks the number of books I have upstairs will cause the ceiling to fall in from the weight.  :)

I do like the idea of saving trees.

I, too, am a book snob. There’s nothing like holding one and turning the pages, but this device allows me to continue to support my favorite authors (as an aspiring paid author, I like to buy the works of other writers) without taking up so much space. Very few people I know read [shocking] or read the same type of books I do [not so shocking] so book swapping isn’t an option. Plus, I have a hard time giving up a book once I’ve bought it.

And I can’t stress the ease with which I can read on the Kindle. It’s like using a large print book without the added weight. The adjustable text size is wonderful.

(This was not a paid post.)

Reading Frenzy

My husband gave me a Kindle for Christmas. I am in love. I opened it Christmas day. I have read 19 novels since then. While I still love holding an actual book in my hands, I can't tell you how much I enjoy this machine. The text size is adjustable, so when my old eyes start getting tired, I can keep reading. The screen is very easy on my vision and the device is lighter than most books. There's even an experimental voice option, but I prefer reading to myself.

The only thing I've found so far that I'm not happy with is that it seems that the e-versions of the books have more mistakes in them than the print versions seem to have.