How Many???

I've always told people that I read one book at a time. I thought I was a person who finished one book before starting the next.

It's not true!!

I'm blaming the digital age... among other things.

Right now I've got one book on the go on my Kindle (these are usually books by my blog buddies - right now? Life, Liberty & Pursuit by Susan Kaye Quinn). Another on my iPod (I'm rereading some classics here - right now? Sherlock Holmes). Another on my desk at school (usually MG or YA - right now? Linger by Maggie Stiefvater). Another in my packsack (usually another MG or YA - right now? Ranger's Apprentice #2 Burning Bridge by John Flanagan). And another on my nightstand (usually steampunk, mystery, romantic suspense, mystery, sci fi or anything else I'm in the mood for - right now? Kindred in Death by JD Robb)

Do you read one book at a time, or have you succumbed to the multi-tasking digital age as well?

Mini Updates

I've promised updates over the past few months on a few things, so here we go...

1) My Kindle. I'm still loving it! It's so easy to use. I love buying books - especially new releases - right away. I also like being able to support my blog buddies who have their books in e-versions only. I have about 15 or 20 blog buddy books on my Kindle right now and know I'll be buying more. The prices are usually better on the Kindle which is nice too. I still buy a ton of 'real' books - I'm a bit of an addict, especially for my classroom - but I'm loving the ebooks too.

The battery is great. It actually seems to hold longer when I'm using it frequently which is kind of odd. The charge tends to last several weeks.

The only down side I've experienced so far is downloading. Some books don't instantly arrive. Others do. I have a 'lite' internet connection and I think that's the problem. It sometimes takes me several attempts to get the book onto the device. I have to resend it from the Kindle site. All of the books eventually arrive, but it can take a bit of time.

Overall though - loving it!

2) Word Verification. Ages ago I asked my fellow bloggers how they felt about having to type in word verification. The results were mixed. A few friends had real nightmares and have VERY good reasons for having both word verification and comment moderation. Overall most people hadn't experienced many problems though. The first week I removed the word verification, I had a few comments from people who obviously didn't read the blog - and really just wanted me to click their link. Don't know if there was anything evil lurking at the other end of the link because I never clicked. It was painfully obvious these weren't real commenters interested in my site. Since then I've had zero incidents.

Hope I didn't jinx myself.

3) Blog Buddy Books. I've read several now and I've gotta say - I've gotten to know some mighty talented folks! My most recent reads are:

Dogsled Dreams by Terry Lynn Johnson - a fantastic MG adventure - my students are LOVING it!
The Hating Game by Talli Roland - a laugh-out-loud romantic comedy with fabulous characters
Breakthrough by Stephen Tremp - a wild science fiction adventure into the land of wormholes
When Danger Calls by Terry O'Dell - an awesome romantic suspense with characters you think you know
CassaStar by Alex J. Cavanaugh - fabulous sci-fi adventure with tons of suspense

These are all great reads!!! Hope you have a chance to read them too!

Next up?

The Prairie Grass Murders by Patricia Stoltey
Across the Universe by Beth Revis
Perilous by Tamara Hart Heiner
Chasing the Dark by Lisa Rusczyk
Veiled in Shadows by Allan Russell
Notes From Nadir by Lisa Maliga

There are so many more great books I'm waiting to buy from my other blog buddies, but I'm still paying off those Christmas bills! I'll get to everyone - promise!
So, now you're updated! What's new in your world??? :)

Love Means Nothing

'Love Means Nothing' --- isn't that a great marketing slogan for a tennis tournament? Love it (pun intended...sorry :)).

Anyway... that's the slogan for the Roger's Cup tennis tournament in Toronto this week. I spent some of the past week down in Toronto enjoying the tournament and with no Internet access. In fact I didn't have a computer with me at all - no writing, no email, no blogging, no Twitter. We were at the stadium for over 12 hours each day and the tennis was SO good, I didn't even miss it :)

I had my Kindle with me for the ride down and back and it was fabulous! I often sit cross-legged or with my feet up on the dash when I'm in the car and I set the Kindle in my lap. I liked not having to use 2 hands (or even 1 hand!) to hold open a book and it was very easy to read in the sun. I finished Nowhere to Hide by Terry O'Dell. FANTASTIC!! It's a great romantic suspense story - check it out :)

I missed most of WriteOnCon and I'll be catching up on the website for all the goodies I missed there.

So, did I miss anything else?


What's another favourite marketing slogan that makes you smile?

It's a Kindle!

I got my Kindle yesterday!

It was a tough decision. The iPad looked so good, but was far out of reach price-wise. I also have troubles with my eyes and I needed something that wasn't backlit. So, no iPad.

The Nook also sounded good, but we don't have Barnes & Nobles here and I spoke with a couple of people who had troubles with them from outside the US.

So the Kindle it is. And I love it. It was super easy to set up and start using. I uploaded some gift certificates I had, clicked a couple of buttons and downloaded 2 books.

My first book to read is L. Diane Wolfe's Circle of Friends: Heather. It's really interesting to watch Heather grow and develop through the book. I'm not done yet, and I can't wait to see if Heather's going to make the choices I want her to make! Nice work Diane :)

Next up is Terry O'Dell's Nowhere to Hide. Looks like terrific romantic suspense. Can't wait!

Any suggestions for what's next? Who has their book up on Amazon?