Following Friday (10)

Q: Today’s Question is something new, an activity. We want to see what you look like! Take a pic with you and your current read! Too shy? Boo! Just post a fun pic you want to share.

Here's a picture of me and Zippy, my Kindle.

New followers are welcome! Make sure to leave a comment so that I know to follow you back!

Don't forget to take a second to participate in the weekly poll--Favorite Disney Heroine--on the right side of your screen. Thanks! Happy Reading!

Popcorn and Potter

As I recover from the Harry Potter movie event, and God knows one needs a full day to recover, I thought I'd share some random musings on the experience. I'm not going to go into a long and detailed review because 1) I'm not as comfortable reviewing movies as I am reviewing books, 2) I don't want to spoil anything, and 3) there is simply too much to mention. If you want a detailed analysis, my fiance wrote one--he is a much better movie nerd than I am.

First of all, in my earliest post on this blog I mentioned that Zippy, my Kindle, is pretty much the ideal solution for the reader on the go. I want to add now that when (for example) I'm stuck waiting in line and then in a movie theater for six hours and surrounded by rabid fans, this device is a life saver. I got through 2/3 of a book and several word scramble games before the movie started, time well spent indeed. Also, they make clip on lights for these things which make it possible to remain entertained when the movie theater refuses to keep the lights on consistently. I think the lack of light was an attempt to keep the aforementioned rabid fans in their seats, because they were a bit out of hand.

As for the movie itself, it was very good. Solid 4/5 stars if I were to grade it. A lot of the most important moments are done very well, but it did lack in a few places. I cried twice, which tells you that it managed to be emotionally gripping.

In our after Potter discussion (during which I had pancakes and coffee. mmm, pancakes) I reflected on a few book/movie details that did and did not work for me. (Minor Spoilers Here)

• As I ranted in my previous post, these books have such wonderful characters. In this movie? Oh Snape, I so feel for you. And Neville, who I didn't mention before, was full of awesome. 
• The mass death of so many minor characters is addressed really flippantly in this movie. I barely registered the sight of poor Fred, for example.
• Memory scenes work better in the books than in the movies. This latest movie had probably the most successful memory sequence, but there were still missing pieces.
• None of the romantic pairings in the movies are believable to me. Eight movies and I still don't feel the love between Ron and Hermione--it feels like the relationship is inevitable but not real or long lasting. And I won't even touch on Harry and Ginny, because I've come to the conclusion that the actress just sucks. All of this is handled slightly better in the books, but not by much. Rowling is just not good at romance. But one can't have everything.
• Some of the fantasy element and world building seem to get lost in translation. It was glaringly obvious in the way that the hallows are presented. I'm convinced that your average audience member who had not at least skimmed book seven would not grasp their full significance

There you have it, my cliff-notes feelings on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, and the entire movie going experience in general. If your a fan of the books, or even just the movies (go read the books, you heathens) I think you'll enjoy this one.

My Kindle and I, A Love Story

Several months back I received a brand new shiny Kindle from my fiance as a fifth anniversary present. One might suspect that after five years I would have preferred something along the lines of fine jewelry. But having been an avid reader since childhood, my loved ones have long since caught on that books and all things book related make much better presents then anything traditional. Thus, the Kindle.

Now, I have to confess that when e-readers first made their way onto the market I was firmly against them. When I say that I love books, I don't just mean that I enjoy reading. I love going to bookstores and wondering amongst the shelves searching for treasures. I love the bright covers and the clean white pages. I love the way books smell. At any given time I have half a dozen stacked next to my bed waiting to be read, and loads more crammed into bookshelves and cubbyholes. E-readers seemed
 to fall short in comparison. The flashy screens and multitude of buttons seemed more like a computer to me, cold and impersonal. And while I could to some extent understand the advantage of having thousands of books stored on one little device, I insisted I didn't need that. I was perfectly happy carting my paperbacks from place to place in my over sized purse.

My attitude changed slightly when I began college and started working in my school's library. I work many night shifts, sitting at the circulation desk ready to help patrons in need. We are encouraged to read or do homework at the desk during slow shifts. My reading material consists of a lot of romance, fantasy, and horror. The covers of these tended to cause raised eyebrows from supervisors, coworkers, and patrons--the clear message being that I should not be wasting my time with junk like that.

Had this potential embarrassment been the only issue I would have mentally told them all to go to hell and kept right on reading. But then there was the problem of semi-frequent interruptions causing me to loose my place, bookmarks being elusive and frequently lost. All of the trekking from building to building started to take a serious toll on my books as well, with many a poor paperback getting crushed at the bottom of my bag. There were issues of storage space, since my dorm only offered one small shelf above the desk which barely had room for my school books. 

The bottom line is, e-readers started to look more and more appealing. I started quietly shopping around and trying to figure out if I could really justify the purchase. I liked the Kindle the best because the screen isn't the bright and flashy LCD of many others that I looked at--it looks a lot like paper instead. I debated buying it for a long time before finally being spared the expense when my sweety surprised me with it on our big Five Years.

My Kindle, who I affectionately named zippy, has served me pretty well. I bought it a carrying case, and it fits in my bag better then most traditional books. It's happy to hold my place for me, even when I have to walk away from it unexpectedly. I've stored many books on it to satisfy my changing moods, and buying new books is pretty much instantaneous. It has many silly little features that I hardly think to use, like the "text to speech" robot voice that reads to you. And it has many useful features like the ability to highlight and save quotes.

This does not in any way mean that I've given up my paper books. There is still a part of me that's a purist when it comes to the reading experience. So my shelves are still filled, and my TBR pile still sits next to my bed, and when I'm at home I generally reach for regular books over the Kindle. But in the end, I'm glad that I switched to e-books for on-the-go purposes. I'm committed to reading as often as possible, and this is just one more way to make that possible.