reading the new way

It's only been about four months since I downloaded the (free) Kindle app onto my iPod touch. In that time reading on this handy little device has found a very secure place in my reading habits. Here are some reasons I love this new way of reading:

1. Adjustable font size
Whenever I tell people I read on this 2 1/2  x 4 1/2 inch gadget with its 2 x 3 inch display, they ask: Isn't it hard to see? My answer: Not at all.

Unlike when you read other materials on the iPod and need to adjust the tiny font size with a finger motion on the touch screen, the Kindle program comes with five pre-set font sizes. You can choose the size that's comfortable and never worry about it after that.

2. Backlit
I can read in bed - and with the lights out! However, it is hard to read  on a backlit display in bright sunlight.

3. Highlightable and Notable
I stumbled across the highlight and notation function quite by accident. During the reading of my first Kindle book, I noticed once in a while as I was "turning a page" (done by sweeping a finger across the screen to the left to go forward, to the right to go backward), a symbol. Under my swooping finger appeared what looked like a magnifying glass. When I lifted my finger from the screen the word from under the glass remained selected with dots - handles - attached. I discovered I could then touch those handles, stretching the selection to cover many words and choose to "Note" or "Highlight".

If I chose "Note" the keyboard appeared and I could type and save some text to identify the spot. If I chose "Highlight" the selected text turned yellow as if I had used a highlighter on it.

 You can later find the spots marked this way in 'bookmarks' (appears as a book icon in a toolbar when you touch the bottom of the screen). 

4. Easy to save my spot
Dog-ear the page by touching the right upper corner of the screen. (Un-dog-ear it by touching it again.) The program also 'remembers' the farthest place you have read or paged to in the book.

5. Many books with me all the time
I love never being without a book. I can tuck this virtual library into a tiny pocket of my smallest handbag. My little iPod book collection has helped me pass the time while waiting in restaurants, at the doctor's office, whenever I have a minute to read. It includes writings by Andrew Murray, George Muller, G. K. Chesterton, Charles Spurgeon, and ten classic children's novels.

No, my little reading device doesn't smell like a book, or feel like a book. But I have grown quite fond of it anyway.

(First published 06-12-10 on Inscribe Writers Online)

kindled reading

Guess what I did today?! I installed the free Kindle App on my i-pod touch, bought the Kindle version of a book from Amazon.com, and with those two actions I have entered the digital reading era. Who knew it would be so easy (and inexpensive!).

a good read

On browsing the stacks of newish arrivals at the local library on Friday I found Home by Marilynne Robinson (this is the same author who wrote Gilead -- one of my favorite novels.) Of course I signed it out.

Gilead is a much-acclaimed book about an old minister, Ames, who lives in the town of Gilead. In it he thinks back over the life he's lived. It's a gentle and thoughtful story of family, friends, faith and forgiveness. Gilead is one book I will keep in my collection in order to reread.

Home covers the same time-frame and events, but is told from the viewpoint of Glory, Ames' best friend Boughton's daughter. It deals with the homecoming of Boughton's prodigal son Jack.

What makes these books so special is author Marilynne Robinson's ability to flesh out the subtleties and intricacies of relationships and show how present interactions have their roots in the past. It's beautiful, perceptive writing.

The only downside is the little red sticker on the front of the book. It says "Bestseller Express Loan 7 days" and, in case I'm tempted to keep it longer, "Overdue fine $1 per day." Ouch! I have only five more days; not much for a slow reader like I. I'd better get reading.

the interviewee

I've been interviewed - by Koalabear Writer (one of my FellowScript editors - and a talented writer too) in her "Writers On Wednesday" series.

The interview is here.

Thanks Koalabear Writer, for the great questions, and the nudge to remember how I got started in writing.

get into character

The following challenge may be of interest to some of you artistes out there:

Author Switches Mediums to Host Virtual Film Festival

MINNEAPOLIS – Acclaimed poet and author David Athey is hosting a virtual Danny Gospel Film Festival in Palm Beach, FL. Participants are welcomed to submit their film interpretations of scenes from all but the last two chapters of Athey’s debut novel, Danny Gospel.

Entry Guidelines:
• Creatively read or perform a portion of the novel, DANNY GOSPEL
• Do not read or perform anything from the last two chapters of the novel
• The video must be between 3-5 minutes long
• Post the video on YouTube.com
• Email a link to your video on YouTube by noon, December 1, 2008, to danny@dannygospel.com
• Winner receives $100; several other prizes will be awarded.
• There will be a special big screen viewing of submissions (Date TBD)

Visit the Danny Gospel Facebook page, or the David Athey Facebook page, for more information.

About Danny Gospel
As a boy he performed concerts singing old-time hymns with his family and got so famous he’s still known around Iowa as Danny Gospel. But since then, things haven’t worked out quite the way he planned. And now Danny prays for just one thing: a normal, happy life.

What he gets instead is a kiss.

He wakes one morning to a perfectly lovely woman dressed in white who leans down, kisses him on the lips … and then disappears. The next moment, Danny finds himself launched into a quest to find this woman he’s sure is his true love. He is an everyday hero on anything but an everyday journey—dreaming impossible dreams and, no matter how much he must suffer, pursuing romance and heavenly glory.

About the Author / Film Festival Host
David Athey, a Midwesterner by birth, now teaches English and oversees the literary journal at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Athey has published poems, reviews, and short stories in numerous journals, including The Iowa Review, Oxford Magazine, and Harvard Review, and holds an MFA from Hamline University. He and his wife live in Palm Beach, Florida.

My mixed review of Danny Gospel is here.

the end of books?

Do you think we're coming to the end of the book era? Paul Krugman, writing in the NY Times thinks we might be.

...According to a report in The Times, the buzz at this year’s BookExpo America was all about electronic books. Now, e-books have been the coming, but somehow not yet arrived, thing for a very long time.... But we may finally have reached the point at which e-books are about to become a widely used alternative to paper and ink.

That’s certainly my impression after a couple of months’ experience with the device feeding the buzz, the Amazon Kindle. Basically, the Kindle’s lightness and reflective display mean that it offers a reading experience almost comparable to that of reading a traditional book. This leaves the user free to appreciate the convenience factor: the Kindle can store the text of many books, and when you order a new book, it’s literally in your hands within a couple of minutes.

It’s a good enough package that my guess is that digital readers will soon become common, perhaps even the usual way we read books.

Read the rest (you may have to sign up for a free NY Times account to access the article)

And what's this Kindle thing all about? Check it out here.

writer's submersion - acclimatize yourself to the depths

J. Mark Bertrand writes at The Master's Artist blog:

What novelists need more than anything is the capacity for immersion. They need enough imagination not only to create the story but also to sustain it. The manuscript must be finished, and this can't be done in one sitting, so the novelist will have to immerse himself time and again like a diver. When he comes up for air, the work is temporarily abandoned, and can't resume until he dives to the same depth where he left off. The writer needs time, yes -- but he needs lung-power too.

Bertrand goes on to explain how this ability to immerse oneself in writing actually begins with the ability to immerse into story as a reader.

Lung capacity is not innate. You build it up over time. Avid swimmers do this without much thought -- it's a by-product of their passion. The same is true for readers. Grow up with books and you develop a natural ability to submerge yourself in the story. You seek out challenging reads for the sheer pleasure of testing yourself

Mark suggests this reading disability is being fed by dumbed-down fiction. I'd say it also happens because of the way we prefer to read most everything these days -- in bullet-sized bites. Reading stuff on the internet surely feeds that tendency.

The solution he suggests for the reader is self-discipline.

He gives a solution for writers too:

My guess is that the writers who have trouble with immersion probably suffer as readers too. This is why one of the best bits of writing advice is to be a better reader. It's the closest thing to a panacea in the craft. But a second is discipline to force yourself to write for hours. Struggle along, even if the results are not exhilarating, so that in time you will build creative capacity.

Read all of "Lung Capacity for Novelists."