Off the Cuff / My Other Journal

Reading, Writing, E-Readers and such…

Since the hype is in the media and I seem to be frolicking all over the waiting rooms of this town and the next, I thought maybe I’d get me an E-Reader. I’m sure I’ll never suffer from the burnout effect of the electronic stuff. I admire everyone who knows so much about computers and related techie things.

Anyhow, after checking out two bookstores who are advertising their E-Readers, I came to the conclusion that my netbook was better than all of those things put together. In the last bookstore, they said their E-Reader came with 1500 books. “Okay, what kind?” I asked.

It seems those books are readily available on the web for free since their copyrights have expired. Lol! I could do that using my netbook and sites like Bartleby, Gutenberg and such. As to the waiting rooms, what are pocket books for? I have at least twenty unread ones at home.

On the other hand, I might go for an I-Pad, but not just yet. Some people who are much better than me where technology is concerned have had some difficulties with that contraption. It may be a good idea for me to let the developers develop their stuff a few steps further.

In the meantime, I’ve been reading The African Queen. Splendid! Except the author’s opinion butts in, as in the last paragraph of chapter six, “It’s a pretty problem of psychology to decide why Allnutt should have found a little manhood—not much, but little—in Rose’s society.” And then in the beginning of the next chapter, “To look back on dangers past is a very different thing from looking forward to dangers close at hand and still to come. Allnutt looked at the roaring water…”

Imagine this with today’s editors! Lol! Yet, in my opinion, the action scenes are breathtaking and the word choices exemplary.

As to writing, after being asked for a solution for procrastination, poet William Stafford said: “I just lower my standards and keep on going.” I grinned when I read this. I could have said the same thing since I’ve been writing anything anywhere regardless of any standard. I’m just enjoying the ride, but then, that’s been my life philosophy. I’m not going to be uptight about anything that makes me happy, especially since just writing lists and notes and reading in waiting rooms became my routine due to real life in the last few days. Still mostly brainstorming, I eked out a few paragraphs here and there.

Since a rare earthquake happened around Michigan-Toronto area, my coming up with a decent something could happen, couldn’t it? Unexplainable things and miracles can be possible, I think.

I’ll never lose hope. I’m an optimist.