E-Read: Admiral's Advice: Picture Catch-Up: Aliens?

It's nearly  a  year now since I had a present of a "Kindle E-reader, for Christmas.

Here's what I wrote about it in March 2012.

"What weighs approx 170 grams and can hold over 1400 books?

The answer is a Kindle Ebook Reader.

I was lucky enough to get one as a Christmas present and so having used it regularly for the last two months, I feel able to justify giving an opinion upon it.

First up, what are its Disadvantages?

1 It can never replace the touch and feel of a 'real' book. It lacks the visceral  sense of the pages. It has no discernible smell or odour and always has the same text, whatever subject you are reading.

2 It can be sometimes a tad tiresome navigating between pages; to read text and then refer to a location by use of a map, for example. To overcome this you have to either create an electronic bookmark, or refer to a page number which you have to input each time.

3 You can't guarantee to always get your book; certain genres such as poetry may not have full artist catalogues; but with totals approaching one million, as long as you stick to the mainstream and the classics, you won't go far wrong. As I write this, I have never failed to find the book of my choice.

The  Advantages:

1 It's perfect for carrying on holiday or on a trip. You can take a virtual library in your case and hardly take up any space.

2 The font/typeface and size is the same for all books, regardless of their volume. Furthermore the text is highly visible, whatever the conditions and that includes bright sunshine.

3 You can purchase a book 24/7.  With a Wifi system, home hub for example, your book will download  in a maximum time frame of two minutes. Last night (8/3), I downloaded  " David Copperfield " by Charles Dickens, for free in about 20 seconds. In fact, until you try it out, you won't believe the speed of delivery.

4 If you are not sure about purchasing a particular book, you can for free,  download a sample chapter. A very useful way of keeping to your budget. If you purchase a book by mistake, there is a short length of time in which you can retract your decision.

5 All of your purchased books are automatically saved and stored on Amazon's servers. This means in practice if you lose your Kindle, or it becomes damaged, you can with new device recover your library.

At this juncture, may I strongly recommend that you place an entry password upon your Kindle, to prevent unauthorised  eyes viewing the contents and in the case of theft or loss stopping the person from adding to your library at your expense.

So, I hope you can see that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and in my case I give my device four * * * * ."

I don't disagree with this review, but two things rather puncture the device.

1.  I am currently reading " Cloud Atlas, " by David Mitchell on the Kindle. It is a large book and runs to over 500 pages; ( I know this, because I borrowed a copy from the library.) The book is set in  six different time phases, including two from the future.

 Ideas or artifacts are carried from one period to another.

The trouble is on the Kindle, I have no easy way to jump forward to see where I am in each individual section; all I have is a moving percentage showing how much I have read.

So the missing physical structure of the book denies me reading clues. I have to say I find this mildly disconcerting.

The book, by the way is an excellent and engrossing read.

Read more about it here:Cloud Atlas

2. As I have already stated in my review, the device is a very elegant solution to carry with you on a trip / visit / holiday. It is flat, weighs little and easily fits into a bag. This is good.

Unfortunately, for me I tend to forget how many books I have stored on the device and by the same token, how many I have not read yet, or in certain cases how many I need to complete.

Again, without the physical material books at hand; for me, it is easy to overlook some titles.

These are of course only minor carps. I wouldn't be  without my Kindle. The very fact that I can, and have downloaded books at all times of the day, all at a discounted price; including brand new titles, which I have in my hand on the day of publication. Very pleasing indeed.

Whilst on the subject of books, last Wednesday (16 / 10 / '13 ) the annual "Booker " Prize was announced.

The winner was Eleanor Catton , whose book "The Luminaries " is set in New Zealand in the 'gold rush ' of the 1860s.

 I was amused to hear the author say that she had not realized how long the book was. She wondered why it took so long to save on Microsoft Word.

 When the manuscript arrived she knew why.  It runs to no less than 832 pages. A mighty read indeed.

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@CTFCofficial  Chelt Expects - 1 looks lost. 3 points build  triangles. Triangles build  a structure & support. Think of the power of 3 COYR

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Here are some photos for you showing various places visited over the last few weeks.

The top three come from St. Fagins, National History Museum near Cardiff, Wales.

This is a great living museum, where historic buildings of all types are transported and re-built in this 600 acre site. 

  The top picture is of the Red House; the middle a general grocery store and the last a mural detail from a medieval church.

There is plenty to see and interestingly the museum is always in a state of flux, with the introduction of new exhibits and the re-working of some areas- for example the Celtic Village is currently being re-modelled.

Admission is free. We like free!

This is  the imposing entrance to Pershore Abbey. Notice the two supporting buttresses.

Here are two wood carvings from the two sides of the tree, situated in the Abbey Grounds.

A local primary school helped with the initial designs.

Finally here is a Cheltenham picture showing the fountains at work.

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Have you ever felt alienated?  A lost soul in the crowd, unwanted and  seemingly  unnoticed.

In the following few words I try to  convey this feeling; using the device of opposites.

Down amongst the ups

Down amongst the ups,

Falling back to move forward,

Burning with  a cold desire.

Lonely man in the crowd,

hearing silent noises nearby,

Shouting out in  whispers.

Locked out in open spaces,

Frozen in the heat of the moment

Imprisoned by  ceaseless  freedoms.

Seeking pleasure amongst life's pain,

finding strength in frailty

Dreaming onwards to avoidi reality.

A Human being me.

Ck  17 / 10 / '13.

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Well the nights are certainly drawing in aren't they?  We approach the last full week in October and November beckons. Enjoy the week and check out the trees whose leaves must be nearing their full glory.

Cheerio,

Ck.