Why I read paperbacks instead of using my kindle last week
I was reading about a possible Amazon move toward book memberships, with rentals of ebooks offered for a fixed monthly charge. Of course, some ebooks would cost extra, just like some movies do. I'm guessing some websites would offer one publisher free while another would charge, and a serious reader might end up having to subscribe to several different sites, just as the serious TV and movie-watcher must.
Or they could just buy books.
This week I traveled cross-country to help my son move into his new home. With all those flights, you'd think I'd just have packed a kindle full of things to read. But I wasn't sure how easily I'd find a place to charge it in an apartment full of boxes. I wasn't sure how many spare sockets he'd have in his home full of electronics. And I wasn't sure how easily I'd find my own electronic device left lying around among his. So I read those paperback things called books, and I had a great time. I also built several chests of drawers, bedside tables, display cabinets, chairs, TV stands and more, and ate some wonderful food in the local restaurants. And I found a place to plug in my son's coffee maker!
And I wrote book reviews. So here is my fine paperback collection, with coffee ratings to match.
It seems appropriate to list Gotta Find A Home, by Dennis Cardiff, first. After all, my son is thankfully not homeless, but there were many street people on the sidewalks, and this book, like a diary of not walking by, brings their lives to vivid life. Enjoy this well-balanced, friendly, non-judgmental book with a smooth well-balanced 3-star coffee.
Ride Away Home, by William Wells, tell the fictional story of a man whose home relationships are falling apart. A missing daughter, wife in hospital, and a failing economy, provoke a mid-life crisis, leading to a wonderful road-trip from the midWest to the Florida Keys. Bikers, road warriors, and the kindness of strangers remind him of what truly matters as the drifter finds his way home. A great road-trip story, where the road winds through character as well as place, this is one to enjoy with a richly elegant 4-star coffee.
Next is a book of essays about growing up in a Catholic home. Growing up Catholic, by by Mary Jane Frances Cavolina, Jeffrey Allen Joseph Stone, Maureen Anne Teresa Kelly and Richard Glen Michael Davis. Since I grew up Catholic in England, not America, it was interesting to see the cultural differences. The book is fun, though it's already somewhat out of date; and it's definitely an interesting read, to enjoy with a lively, easy-drinking 2-star coffee.
Man's Best Hero, by Ace Collins, reads like a magazine filled with essays on American dogs, ranging from WWI to 911, whose lives and heroic actions amply illustrate the virtues we mere humans might want to emulate. Enjoy with another lively easy-drinking 2-star coffee, and keep the tissues handy.
Next is a novel for children. I read the first of John Stephen's Books of Beginnings series on a plane a little while ago and couldn't resist picking up the second for my next flight. Readers could start with The Fire Chronicle, but should probably read The Emerald Atlas first. Now Kate has her atlas, and her skills, it's Michael's turn to grow up. But Kate vanishes, proving she's less skillful than everyone thought, and Michael has much to learn in a world of dragons where nothing and no one is ever quite what they seem. Enjoy this intriguing novel with a rich, elegant and complex 4-star coffee.
And for slightly older kids, the Delphi Trilogy offers another strangely different world, with hints of history and mythology, blended with science, and told in the convincing voice of a seventeen-year-old orphan, determined to learn the secrets of his past. I've just finished reading books 1 and 2, The League of Delphi and The Delphi Deception. Now I can hardly wait to enjoy book three. Meanwhile, drink some bold, dark intense 5-star coffee while enjoying the read.
Or they could just buy books.
This week I traveled cross-country to help my son move into his new home. With all those flights, you'd think I'd just have packed a kindle full of things to read. But I wasn't sure how easily I'd find a place to charge it in an apartment full of boxes. I wasn't sure how many spare sockets he'd have in his home full of electronics. And I wasn't sure how easily I'd find my own electronic device left lying around among his. So I read those paperback things called books, and I had a great time. I also built several chests of drawers, bedside tables, display cabinets, chairs, TV stands and more, and ate some wonderful food in the local restaurants. And I found a place to plug in my son's coffee maker!
And I wrote book reviews. So here is my fine paperback collection, with coffee ratings to match.
It seems appropriate to list Gotta Find A Home, by Dennis Cardiff, first. After all, my son is thankfully not homeless, but there were many street people on the sidewalks, and this book, like a diary of not walking by, brings their lives to vivid life. Enjoy this well-balanced, friendly, non-judgmental book with a smooth well-balanced 3-star coffee.
Ride Away Home, by William Wells, tell the fictional story of a man whose home relationships are falling apart. A missing daughter, wife in hospital, and a failing economy, provoke a mid-life crisis, leading to a wonderful road-trip from the midWest to the Florida Keys. Bikers, road warriors, and the kindness of strangers remind him of what truly matters as the drifter finds his way home. A great road-trip story, where the road winds through character as well as place, this is one to enjoy with a richly elegant 4-star coffee.
Next is a book of essays about growing up in a Catholic home. Growing up Catholic, by by Mary Jane Frances Cavolina, Jeffrey Allen Joseph Stone, Maureen Anne Teresa Kelly and Richard Glen Michael Davis. Since I grew up Catholic in England, not America, it was interesting to see the cultural differences. The book is fun, though it's already somewhat out of date; and it's definitely an interesting read, to enjoy with a lively, easy-drinking 2-star coffee.
Man's Best Hero, by Ace Collins, reads like a magazine filled with essays on American dogs, ranging from WWI to 911, whose lives and heroic actions amply illustrate the virtues we mere humans might want to emulate. Enjoy with another lively easy-drinking 2-star coffee, and keep the tissues handy.
Next is a novel for children. I read the first of John Stephen's Books of Beginnings series on a plane a little while ago and couldn't resist picking up the second for my next flight. Readers could start with The Fire Chronicle, but should probably read The Emerald Atlas first. Now Kate has her atlas, and her skills, it's Michael's turn to grow up. But Kate vanishes, proving she's less skillful than everyone thought, and Michael has much to learn in a world of dragons where nothing and no one is ever quite what they seem. Enjoy this intriguing novel with a rich, elegant and complex 4-star coffee.
And for slightly older kids, the Delphi Trilogy offers another strangely different world, with hints of history and mythology, blended with science, and told in the convincing voice of a seventeen-year-old orphan, determined to learn the secrets of his past. I've just finished reading books 1 and 2, The League of Delphi and The Delphi Deception. Now I can hardly wait to enjoy book three. Meanwhile, drink some bold, dark intense 5-star coffee while enjoying the read.
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