Loving the book

A friend of mine came over for tea yesterday.  She has an e-reader.  She was unable to get it to let her read.  Asking her beloved, men always know these things, right?, and he gave advice. She followed his advice.  Twice, to be sure.  Nada.  Nothing.  No action.  Without giving in to the madness of doing the same thing again and again and expecting a different response, she called tech support.*  She was helped.  And I thought (after 'I love tech people like that'): Tech support.  Give me a book.



*The lovely (a comment on personality and duty qualifications) woman at tech support said,
"See x icon on the left?' 
"Yes."
"Click that."  Pause.
"See y icon?"
"Yes."
"Click that." Pause.
"See z icon on the left?"
"Yes."
"Click that."
Voila, she can read again.

Digital Library Plenary

Yeah, but will the architecture be as nice in the Digital Public Library of America? J

photo info

A book start to finish: part 4 publication delays

This kind of thing often happens in the publishing world.  The author (me) is late getting the manuscript done for one reason or another ( I am taking Legal Writing and Research to enhance my abilities to help the law students in reference and my mind is currently being bent into a pretzel - ouch is the word, but it is a good ouch, like a new yoga pose), or the publisher changes editors (not happening here), or the illustrator breaks her wrist grabbing her two year old out of the way of her four year old who is pretending to be a bulldozer (also not likely here), or the printer has had a flood and all their paper is soaked and on drying racks so the publisher has to wait for a sunny day and the paper to dry out (remote, but not impossible), or the truck delivering the goods to market has a flat (I might have a flat on my bike bringing the book over to donate it to the library, but I can still walk the distance, so no worries there).  It is just the way of things. 

And if the e-book kiddies out there are feeling smug just remember you also have authors who have lives, and uploads that get eaten, and digital jigjags, and incompatible files.  Oh, and the battery on your e-book reader just died and you have a flat tire and can't get home to plug it in.  Too bad it doesn't have a little solar panel, you could hang it up with the paper.

When my brain has been thoroughly lawified I will get back to the manuscript of George Cecil Harris and his memorable fender.  Don't give up hope, I am only on the closed memo. 

Coming in first for the environment....the library

In a contest between the book and the e-book, the library wins.  I sparked off this picture* because, being me, I wanted to know what happens after we are done with the tool.  What I have long suspected is true, books are the superior technology.  Using the quick comparison presented by Daniel Goleman books cause less damage in production, in transportation ("You’d need to drive to a store 300 miles away to create the equivalent in toxic impacts on health of making one e-reader"), and in disposal. Now, go to the library and use a book we all own, read it, and someone else will read it, and someone else will read it, and someone else....all without making more copies.

Libraries are brilliant.

*I found it on Stephen's Lighthouse, the original article by Les Grossman gives a bit more, but he is talking about a different aspect of the advantages of books.

senior technology retains cache

Well, its coming in folks, the stats, and it turns out there are a goodly number of us who are still looking at the long term, and I might point out, long lasting, out lasting, and bio-more friendly, technology of print on paper over print on a screen (do you really want to know what screens turn into when they try to biodegrade?  ---- eeeeeekkkkk run screaming from reality).

Barry W. Cull has written a paper on the subject, my favourite quote from which is: students prefer to read on paper, although they also want the convenience of online digital text. Liu has found that graduate academic library users like the access provided by online electronic resources, but prefer to print the electronic documents in order to read them. 

My little bookmaking heart is filled with glee.  My poor eyes, currently starting at a screen, as are yours, think longing of ink on paper.  Even if that turns out to be e-ink on e-paper? Given the attributes of the common denominator I expect so (remember to run screaming from reality).  When, I wonders, are we going to start pronouncing that ei-nk (sounding remarkably like ink only longer in front), and what will the anthropologists think of us with such a large part of our vocabulary showing e's out front?

visions of ebooks

I am a maker.  I make my own bread, my own yogurt, my own clothes...okay I only alter at this point, (one of the vicious realities for people who's legs are not regulation length, I can out height you if we are sitting down), and as you will note from the 100 handmade books saga, I make books. And I don't mean I just physically make them, I do, but I also write and illustrate and do the layout design on them too.  But books are coming out in a new form. I can't say I look forward to having to read an ebook, not enough tactility for me, but...cooooollll, how do I make that?  Well I took an introduction to Adobe Acrobat (six hours just to say hello) and that's how you make that.  I can do all the layout and put in videos and snarky talking giraffes and then presto, a pdf which will grow up to be an ebook.

Now I just need to finish the three months of paper work so I can sell on Amazon....want to hear about easy as 1,2,3 Amazon style?