Christmas Wrap-up

Get it? See what I did there? Ha! I’m certain that no one in the history of blogging or any other form of writing has made that oh-so-clever pun.

Whew, sorry I haven't updated lately, but it's been a busy week, and when I wasn't doing something with family, I was recovering from doing something with family. I've also started working out again, and that's feeling really good. It's long overdue.

Well, for all my talk of not spending a lot on Christmas, I got a couple of gifts that really took me by surprise. I got several cool things, but a couple were really unexpected. I was planning on buying myself a Kindle after the holidays, but Ken got me one for Christmas! Yay! I've been learning how to use it, and I've already read one book on it (Draculas, by F. Paul Wilson and three other authors...it was gruesome, gory, and had plenty of dark humor...I loved it!).

The other was a gift from my sister Diana, and that's it in the picture. Yes, she got me a guitar. A freakin' guitar! Our grand-niece and grand-nephew also got guitars, and she got my sister Sue a keyboard. She says there was an incredible deal going on at Tom's store (Elder-Beerman), and she just couldn't resist. She handed it to me and said, "You're the guitar hero!" I was stunned.

So now I need to figure out how to play the damn thing. Ha! There is a website through the company that offers tutorials and lessons, so I'll start there. I have a feeling that real guitar isn't going to be as easy as Rock Band guitar...! (Makes me think of Cartman on "South Park": "Real guitars are for old people!") I strapped that baby on and found out that real guitars are heavy, too. I guess it makes a big difference when it's solid wood rather than plastic. Go figure. I measured it, and it is 40 inches long, making it exactly 20 inches shorter than me. I could almost play it like an upright bass.

My niece Jen has been in town for a couple of weeks, and tonight was dinner out with her. I had looked online for a few places in the area close to where she's staying (with her Dad--my brother-in-law Tom--and Diana...are you still with me?) and the most intriguing place sounded like a little restaurant called Bella Italia. We couldn't find it right away, but kept looking, and were glad we did! Their sign wasn't lit, and we made sure to let them know, because it was hard to find. But wow, was it worth it! Great food (I had artichoke and spinach ravioli in a light balsamic sauce), great service, great wine, and a visit from the chef, who was funny and charming (and from Sicily). He actually stopped by our table, and all the others, several times. When it came time for dessert and we wanted a dessert wine, he recommended a sweet sparkling wine. It seemed too sweet at first taste, but he said, "Trust me. When you have it with the dessert, the flavor changes." He was right! It was perfect with the sweet desserts. It was a good enough experience that I'm thinking I should probably write a note saying how much we enjoyed it. Isn't it fun when you find an unexpected place that turns out to be wonderful? I would recommend it to any of my friends in the area.

Tomorrow is another big day, with the Notre Dame-Miami Sun Bowl game at 2 pm. Then a New Year's Eve party at Diana and Tom's, and it's Jen's last night here. I'm sad. I wish she lived closer...San Diego is about as far away as you can get in this country! Hawaii doesn't count because it's not really a state. In fact, the Birthers have asked for the REAL certificate of Hawaii's statehood. Heh. I can't take credit for that...I read it somewhere. Maybe Andy Borowitz? But I digress. Saturday it's a visit with Shane and Matt, and Sunday it's watching football and putting away Christmas decorations. Monday it should be a return to normal...or at least as normal as it gets around here!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and here's looking to another year. There will be some good things, there will be some bad things...but I think I've crossed that line where just having another year is a good thing! Happy New Year! What would you little maniacs like to do first? (Does anyone get that reference? Anyone?)

Books instead of kooks

My plan was to write about Christine O'Donnell and her bizarre comments concerning the First Amendment, but I wrote plenty on Facebook today, and I find that I'm feeling just way too mellow to write anymore about the perky little idiot tonight. I can only handle so much ignorance in a day, and it seems that I have reached my limit.

Instead, I'm going to write about books and e-readers. I'm fortunate to be friends on Facebook with one of my favorite authors, F. Paul Wilson. He writes the Repairman Jack novels (I just got the penultimate one!), one of my favorite characters in modern fiction, as well as many other excellent horror/science fiction novels. Today, he posted that his latest book, a collaboration with three other authors, was available for download. Draculas is on Amazon for a measly $2.99! You can't beat that with a stick—or a crucifix! I popped on over to Amazon, used one-click ordering, and badabing, badaboom, I've got the book.

I don't have an actual Kindle (yet!), but Amazon offers free Kindle downloads for PC and Mac. (Just go to the Kindle store, and look for 'free reading apps.') I honestly can't recall if I've written about it here before, so if I have, please pardon my redundancy. Until I can get an actual Kindle, this is a pretty nifty option, and you can sync your Kindle editions so that you have your books on all of them. There are millions of free books available, some through Amazon, others through Project Gutenberg and other digital book sites. It really is amazing what you can find on there, and I've already got a bunch waiting for me.

As amazing as the e-reader technology is, can it depose printed books? Most of the avid readers that I know love our hard copies...but most of us are also embracing the ease and convenience of the e-reader. After posting the link to the Kindle edition of his book, Mr. Wilson commented that the extras available with the Kindle version would never see the light of day in what he called "p-books." (I'm assuming that means printed books.) There are tons of extras included, like the emails that the four authors exchanged when discussing, planning, and writing the book. This is an amazing thing; I liken it to the evolution from VHS tapes to DVDs. The deleted scenes, alternate scenes, outtakes--all of those are easily accessible on DVD. Including large quantities of notes, discussions, and correspondence concerning a book would never happen with a traditionally published book. This really changes the game, and readers are the big winners here.

There has been much speculation about what would happen to printed books, bookstores, and especially libraries, with the advent of e-readers. As someone who reads a lot of online content but still treasures holding a book in her hands (as you can probably guess from the bookshelves pictured here), I foresee a peaceful coexistence. If I'm sitting up at the table, it's easy to read online. If I want to relax on the couch or in bed while I read, I don't take the laptop; I have a book to hold in my hands...and eventually let drop as I doze off trying to read just one...more...paragraph. (To be honest, I always try to place my bookmark and set the book aside before I doze off. I don't want to harm the book.)

I read a really interesting article the other day about how libraries are coping with e-readers. Many thought that it spelled the demise of the public library. [climbing on soapbox] We must not let this happen. Libraries serve many functions beyond lending books. They provide access to computers for those who don't have them at home, they offer meeting rooms for community groups, they conduct reading groups for kids to encourage them to read.

They are one of our most precious treasures, and we must preserve them. (And oh yeah...they're a government program!) [climbing down from soapbox] Anyway, some libraries are purchasing and loaning out e-readers! I think this is a fantastic embrace of the technology, and a way to stay current. Libraries must go along with current trends and advances in technology if they want to remain viable, and I applaud them for doing so. (By the way, I remember using card catalogs. Does anyone else?)

It's a brave new world, people, and I welcome our e-book providing overlords. It will never take the place of what Mr. Wilson calls p-books, at least not for me, but it's a fine addition to my reading experience. I look forward to finding many classics and essays that I normally wouldn't have read. When it comes to reading, it’s not like the Highlander. There can be more than one.