Friday, May 20, 2011

Ramble: Books and E-Books

I own seventeen e-books. (And how do you spell and punctuate that word?!) On principle, I disapprove of e-books. The fact that my copy of the book will go away when the technology goes away, the fact that I can't bring them to the used bookstore, the fact that I can't lend them or only lend them so many times, the fact that some books could go to a pure e-book publication and that when those books go out of copyright they could be flat-out lost forever. All that is bad. But I downloaded the Kindle reader for Mac and for my phone, and bought a cheap out-of-copyright e-book to play with them with. And then I bought another e-book at a moderately discounted price. And then I bought one at the ridiculous (given the extremely low per-unit cost for e-books) full price. And now, a few months later, I have seventeen of the things. Three technical, two how-to, one self-help, one reference, five novels, three biographical nonfiction, two "other nonfiction." So I disapprove of them, but I have seventeen, and I'm reading more than I was before, and reading relatively new books (which I rarely did before), and authors are making more money from me than before, because I used to mostly buy used books. So, well, maybe it's not such a bad thing. Except financially, for me. Well, and for my local bookstore. Eep. My original plan, as much as it could be detected mixed in with my denial that I was buying e-books at all, was to restrict my electronic buying only to those books that I don't want to own permanently in paper form anyway. There are a lot of these. The shelves are full, and while I never actually want to get rid of any book, most books must go, promptly after I've read them. Or if they stay, something else must go. Turning my head left and right, I see two stacks, representing about fifteen books, that are destined for the used bookstore. And that's just what hasn't been boxed yet. Come to think of it, fifteen is almost the count of what I've read for the 100+ Reading Challenge. So given that some of my 100+ books were electronic, and assuming that I actually drag myself to the used bookstore, I'm more than keeping up with one book in, one book out. Yay me! Um. Where was I? Oh, yes. The e-book versus paper judgement has failed three times, which is a rather high rate. I bought Betsy Lerner's Forest For The Trees (one of the "other nonfiction", about writing, though there's plenty of biographical stuff in there too) in e-book form, and I liked it so much that now I want it permanently. I should have learned my lesson, but, no, I just downloaded and finished her Food and Loathing, and while I'm letting my impressions settle out before I rush to spend more money, I think I'll want a paper copy of that one, too. I think that my recent post about writing while grumpy/cranky/angry reminded me of Betsy Lerner and sent me looking for her latest book--while Forest For The Trees wasn't all that grumpy, her blog often is, and so is Food and Loathing, and I love her writing, grumpy or non. It makes me wonder if, like it or not, I should grab a keyboard when I'm gnashing my teeth and see what comes out. And I'm in the middle of Dominique Browning's Slow Love, and judging from my fondness for two of her other books (Paths of Desire and Around the House and in the Garden) I'm also going to want that in paper form. (As a side note, I find myself wondering if I should email to the author that her website makes it impossible to link to a single specific book. Would she care?) So, really, I have no grounds for claiming surprise in the last two cases. Frankly, I just wanted the books and I wanted them now, so I downloaded them. I tell myself that I'm supporting the author. And the publisher--I have no problem supporting publishers either, I'm just more excited about supporting the authors. And by buying the things a second time on paper, I can even ease my guilt about the local bookstore, because I can order them there. So, really, everybody but my pocket wins. That'll have to be good enough. Image: By Andreas Praefcke. Wikimedia Commons.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Disney's PROM - Movie Review

The days leading to prom is an exciting experience for a highschooler's life while for others, it is extremely stressful. For Nova Prescott (Aimee Teegarden), it is both. As class president and organizer for the graduating class' prom night, she has worked overtime to plan the perfect evening only to have her dream go up in flames when a fire destroys all the decorations only three weeks before the big night. With all her friends now busy with their schoolwork, the principal assigns school rebel, Jesse Richter (Thomas McDonell), to help her rebuilt from scratch. At first the two despised each other and found every opportunity to clash heads but as the weeks pass, they eventually come to understand each other. Meanwhile, other classmates are desperately trying to find prom dates, dealing with betrayal and change. Friendships and close relationships will be tested before all converging on that one special night. This film is told in the typical Disney-style with the good guys getting the girl and the bad guys getting burned and everyone except the bad guy gets a happy ending. How realistic is it though? The movie makes it seem that prom is the most important night of your life and everyone, with the exception of a few, seem too excited about it. However, the film does teach some important lessons: don't judge a book by its cover and stop waiting for life to happen, make the change yourself! Prom is a nice light movie that pre-teens and teens will enjoy, no matter how unrealistic the story seems. Prom opens in theatres tomorrow, Friday April 29, 2011.

Top Food Predictions for 2011

The Food Channel has weighed in with what it thinks are going to be the hot "in" foods for 2011.
I'm intrigued by some of their selections, but frankly most of these items are part of my regular eating patterns already.
What do you think?
1. Small Pies. Pie, of course, has been around forever, but 2011 could be the Year of the Pie. Some are already calling it the “next cupcake.” We say, yes, pies will be hot in the coming year, but look for smaller pies to make it big—in both sweet and savory varieties. 2. Sausage. Look for a leaner, better quality sausage, sourced locally at farmers markets, to take on the role as the “new bacon.” Home butchery and the charcuterie trend that has led to renewed interest in cured meats are additional factors here as well. 3. Nutmeg. Researchers have discovered that nutmeg’s reputation as an aphrodisiac—especially for women—has some merit. Need we say more? 4. Moonshine. Moonshine has gone legit. Tennessee’s first legal moonshine distillery opened this summer, and the clear corn whiskey hootch can now be found in many liquor stores and even purchased online. It still packs a wallop. 5. Gourmet Ice Pops. Ice pops in exotic flavors like bacon, mango chile, and peanut butter are the latest to get the artisanal treatment. They’re known as paletas in Mexico. Watch for them to go mainstream north of the border in 2011. 6. Grits. Could this old southern favorite become the “new grain”? We see it moving beyond the breakfast menu and above the Mason-Dixon Line. 7. Sweet Potatoes. These super-nutritious tubers will be orange-hot in 2011. They’ll be especially molten as the alternative, better-for-you french fry. 8. Fin fish. We are still discovering so much about the benefits of fish. After all, it wasn't that long ago that we found out about Omega 3's, and we know that obtaining these nutrients directly from food is the best way to get them into our system. We're banking on more acceptance of farmed fish as it becomes more important to have a good supply of this lean protein. 9. Cupuaçu fruit. This is quite possibly the next superfruit, following in the footsteps of the acai fruit. Both are from the Brazilian rainforest. Cupuaçu has a number of antioxidants and minerals, and is considered a natural source of energy. We tasted it in a Brazilian candy that had us craving more. Speaking of candy, you might also watch for Brigadeiro. This sweet Brazilian candy is made by mixing sweetened condensed milk, butter and cocoa powder. It's usually rolled into ball and coated in granulated sugar, but it can also take on other flavors. It's the national truffle of Brazil. Look for it to come to our shores in 2011. 10. Beans. The lowly legume will step up to the spotlight in 2011, as a great source of protein and a versatile ingredient in appetizers like white bean & rosemary bruschetta. And, yes, it’s still awesome in chili.