Electronic Readers Revisited

I was ecstatic when my new Sony Electronic Reader arrived via UPS a couple of weeks ago. I just knew Sony’s Electronic Reader was the cat’s meow and would save time, paper and money. But now I have egg on my face after my enthusiastic praise in a recent post.

Downloading my PDF files to the Sony reader was remarkably easy but when the document was opened on the reader’s 5 x 7 screen the PDF file was not readable. The font could only be increased from a six to an approximate size eight which made reading impossible without a magnifying glass.

It boils down to format. My main purpose for purchasing an electronic reader was to have the ability to download all of my PDF ebooks in one location, therefore enjoying reading in comfort at the library, in the car, or at Starbucks instead of at the computer screen or printing out hundreds of unbound pages.

I talked to Sony about this and they apologized and suggested that I reformat all of my ebooks and then download to the reader. I told them that I have 64 ebooks and reformatting was out of the question. Also, I informed them that their instructions did not indicate personal documents, such as PDF files, are not in the correct format for downloading to the electronic reader and therefore not compatible unless you purchase ebooks from Sony’s Ebook Store. You can bet I will reassess my need to have an electronic reader.

This just means that there will always be some type of “bugs” to work out no matter how far advanced the technology is. This also means you can’t judge a Reader by its cover.

Write it down,

Carma

The Sound of Writing

Thanks to Terry Whalin of The Writing Life for sharing this video from You Tube.

Click and enjoy.

Pictures ARE worth a thousand words. I would like to be able to commandeer those words, wouldn't you?



Write it down,
Carma

Electronic Readers: Do You Have Yours Yet?

Electronic Readers are not new but the Kindle from Amazon is. It takes the ordinary electronic reader to a whole new level and possibly will reform the way we read books. That is according to Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon.com. In an interview with Newsweek Magazine, Bezos was quoted as saying “The vision is that you should be able to get any book—not just any book in print, but any book that’s ever been in print—on Kindle, in less than a minute.”

I am not going to write a review on the Kindle, I want to send you over to Jon Morrow at onmoneymaking.com and read his informative and compelling post on this amazing product. I found Jon at Success from the Nest where he wrote a guest post about how not to become a "Home Based Hermit" .

Before I found out about the Kindle, I bought a Sony Reader and my main reason for purchasing this $300 gadget is to download all my e-books and have them available for reading at the click of a button. (There are cheaper readers but I don’t know the brand names and for a $100 more I could have had a Kindle) Printing e-books from my printer is out of the question since many of them are hundreds of pages in length. The Sony Reader measures 5 x 7 inches and has a leatherette cover which gives the feel of a real book more or less. Approximately 160 books can be downloaded to this compact electronic wonder. You can easily drop it in your purse or brief case.

Although reading by adults has declined from 62% to 57% in the past decade I hope that an electronic reader will be able to bring that number up.

Honestly I had not considered using an electronic reader until I went to a book signing event at my local library hosting John Schembra, author of M.P. A novel of Vietnam and Priscilla Royal, author of Wine of Violence, A Medieval Mystery. Both authors touted the benefits of a reader. Writers are quite often on the go and it is the portable ability of the reader that is attractive to busy people, like writers.

That’s all I needed. Now I feel that I can reap the benefits of all my e books rather than let them hang in the ether's of my computer.

Has anyone else had experience with electronic readers? Am I the last kid on the block to know about these? If you do indeed use an electronic reader, what is your evaluation?

Write it down,

Carma

Open the Door to Possibility - Hire A Coach

Everyone needs the expertise of a coach. If it weren’t for coaches, some babies would never have been born, championships may have been lost and so on.

As you probably are aware, coaches don’t play the game, they KNOW the game. Coaches will answer your knock on the door of possibility and show you how to recognize your true self and abilities.

Your next question is “Where can I find one of these?”

Right here. Lisa Gates of Design Your Writing Life is expanding her coaching practice to include group telecoaching sessions.

That’s right. You can receive the benefit of Lisa’s coaching skill in the comfort of your home or office.

Lisa Gates is offering two free introductory calls in December so that you can experience the telecoaching process.

Tuesday, December 4 at 5 p.m. PST
Friday, December 7 at 12 Noon PST

Find out how to sign up for your free introductory class by visiting the Group Telecoaching info page.

Write it down,

Carma

The Fourth Thursday

The last notch on your belt has been abandoned and left to hang in exile.

Excessiveness borders on sinfulness.

Thanks have been given and received.

Tryptophan has taken over.

Promises to never eat this much again are too soon forgotten.

Nevertheless, it was good.

(Carma Dutra)

"Thanksgiving day comes by statute once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow." ~Edward Sanford Martin

Write it down,
Carma

Have A Little Soul

I ran across a wonderful website. Heather Blakely is the webmaster of Soul Food Café which houses Dailywriting.net and more. The Soul Food Café is a labyrinth offering a wealth of creative stimuli and a multitude of links from writing prompts, inspirations, stories, writing motivation, imaginations and much more. When you visit the Soul Food Café, you can read about its Seven layers.

This site is full of inspiration for writers and artists who are looking to revive their passion. It is an experience one must experience personally. It can take you deep into cyber space but you will not care.

It may take a long time to go through the amazing layers but you will not want to rush. Take your time. This novice blogger plans too.

Write it down,

Carma

Bumper Sticker Friday

I am declaring Friday as Bumper Sticker Friday. You either love ‘em or hate ‘em. Bumper stickers can reveal a great deal about the owner of the bumper. Some people display them to proclaim their philosophy on life. Like this one I spotted on a 1960 Ford pick up truck.

“Always Drink Upstream From the Herd”.

“Find Your Voice and Never Stop Singing” is my bumper sticker choice this week and the one that gave me the idea to start Bumper Sticker Friday. I love this sticker because it encourages positive thoughts. It also made me think about composing a list of things I want to do before I die. Number 1 – Take voice lessons.

Now, you say, how did I go from bumper stickers to making lists of things I want to do before I die? Well…life is all about ideas and words. Writers are all about words and thoughts, for starters. Where do writers get their ideas? Everywhere, so why not a bumper sticker?

Analyzing bumper stickers is also a great pastime while waiting for the light to turn green.

What favorite bumper sticker have you seen this week? I really want to hear from you.

Write it down,

Carma