With over 6,325 blogs and growing, there’s a healthy list but once again you have to subscribe (average price $1.99) and much as I like popular blog Gawker, I don’t love it that much.
The magazine selection is slimmer, with 32 titles which are mostly business and technology. But hey, even Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine (which seems somewhat odd considering the high-techie other selections) are here. At $1.49 a month, Time Magazine’s Kindle version is full-featured at a drastically reduced cost than their paper counterpart.
Green features
By now you realize I'm an avid reader. If you are green conscious at all, you realize that reading both newspapers or magazine causes problems for the environment. Sure we all recycle but I'm surprised more isn't made of the green benefits of using a Kindle. Also, not having to lug those ungainly magazines to the recylable bin is a good thing.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
7 Days of Kindle: Day 5: More Books!
Using the Kindle makes reading even more addicting.
I find myself wanting to rush home, or anyplace quiet so I can switch the Kindle on and read more. Discipline is definitely needed. With Kindle's ease of ordering a book at Amazon's site, I find myself buying (or wanting to buy books) at a moment's notice.
For the record, I have bought Chris Anderson's "Free," Coelho's "By the River...," and Julia Cameron's "The Right to Write." I really want to buy Julia Child's "My Life in Paris." The sample was divine! But with only two more days left of the test, I have to pace myself.
Feature I fall in love with today: the gorgeous and whimsical screen savers which depict some of literature's greatest heros and heroines (including Jane Austen!). What a thoughtful touch!
I find myself wanting to rush home, or anyplace quiet so I can switch the Kindle on and read more. Discipline is definitely needed. With Kindle's ease of ordering a book at Amazon's site, I find myself buying (or wanting to buy books) at a moment's notice.
For the record, I have bought Chris Anderson's "Free," Coelho's "By the River...," and Julia Cameron's "The Right to Write." I really want to buy Julia Child's "My Life in Paris." The sample was divine! But with only two more days left of the test, I have to pace myself.
Feature I fall in love with today: the gorgeous and whimsical screen savers which depict some of literature's greatest heros and heroines (including Jane Austen!). What a thoughtful touch!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
7 Days of Kindle: Day 4: Travel and Portability
Hi everyone!
If you're wondering what happened to my 7 days of blogging, I'm here to say you'll still get them but they won't be successive. It's still going to be great, don't worry.
My blogging bonanza fell right in the middle of a trip to NYC for business. But all my travels has given me an opportunity to take the Kindle 2 out for a run in numerous conditions. I knew that the Kindle was going to save me a lot of space packing my usual books but I have to say that having it ready to read the newspaper and my several books, I think I've fallen in love.
I've taken it with me in a 12-hour car ride from Charlotte to NY, where I read USA Today and my latest Paulo Coehlo book, "By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept." And it was AMAZING and easy reading on the NYC subways. I saw fellow riders admire my easy breezy reader. With its lovely leather cover, it fits easily and discretely in my bag.
I've come to realize that the Kindle is the ultimate travel accessory.
BTW, the feature I fell in love with today: The ability to zoom in on a photo.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
7 Days of Kindle: Day 3: Books
And now...what the Kindle was truly created for: BOOKS!
Kindle offers 300,000 titles, which include almost all the NYT best-sellers and some public domain work such as The Art of War, Pride and Prejudice and Shakespeare, which is free.
What I absolutely love is the fact that all books offer a sample, which can range anywhere from three to 30 pages, depending on the publisher. This try before you buy mechanism allows you to get a good feel for the book. Samples that need more pages include Julia Cameron's "The Right to Write." Three pages? Uh, no. But what was amazing was the sample from the book, "Strapless" at over 30 pages.
Prices are far less than their hardcover options and run on average from $4.99 to $9.99 per book. I wish they put the prices on the main navigation bar so you can see them before you have to click in each title. But specials abound and I don’t miss turning the pages the way I thought I would.
Features I love: include the fact I can resize the text in six directions which helps late at night, and I like the fact that the automated voice can read anything on the Kindle to you.
Features I dream of: a color screen, a volume button for the voice (it’s a tad low without earphones).
Feature that is most fabulous: The wonderful buy one get one free offers and all the other special deals Amazon offers for the Kindle. I bought Chris Anderson's new book, "Free" and got "The Long Tail" along with it. It's these kind of deals that make the Kindle the medium of the future.
I also was able to download the No. 1 NYT best-seller free, "Paranoid." It's a thriller, something I don't get a chance to read much of but at free, you can't beat the value. Somehow I already feel that the Kindle is making me a much more varied reader.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
7 Days of Kindle: Day 2: Newspapers
At our recent fourth anniversary celebration of “Speaking Volumes” (Carolina Weekly Newspaper Group’s book club which I’ve been running since 2005) I shared with book club member and former librarian Felicia Lee (seen left with fellow book club member Lena Claxton) that I one of the first things I do after I open my eyes is read the New York Times on my BlackBerry. She seemed shocked. And possibly aghast.
My love for the NYT started when a substitute teacher during third grade teacher at P.S. 209 in Brooklyn cracked the code and demystified how to read the front page, pointing out that the top right corner above the fold was the lead story. From thereafter every Saturday night at around 10:45 PM, I remember going to the newsstand with my mom or dad, buying the Times and picking up some freshly made bagels and settling and starting to read the sections. It felt so exotic reading the Sunday paper on Saturday. Watching old school wrestling with the likes of Bruno Samortino added to the fare.
I was most curious what would reading newspapers on the Kindle be like.
Kindle offers 44 newspaper subscriptions with the majority (33) of them U.S. newspapers. National newspapers such as the NYT, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal are here as are many the dailies in major cities but the southeast is sorely underrepresented. The only ones offered are from Atlanta and Richmond. But if you want to read the Shanghai Daily or Le Monde, you are in luck.
I’m in a bit of a sticker shock. To read the papers on the Kindle you have to pay a monthly subscription fee, which ranges from $5.99 for the Orlando Sentinel to a whopping $14.99 for the Wall Street Journal. The Times is $13.99. While there are whole conversations within the media industry to try to monetize their online content, most newspapers (except for the WSJ which started out and continues to offer a fee-based subscription online) are free. I can read the entire Sunday NYT online with my laptop for free. The good news is that they offer a two week trial. I sign up for the NYT, USA Today and WSJ.
Kindle’s electronic ink makes it very easy to read in both direct sunlight and shade. I would love it if they would consider adding a nightlight for easier reading in bed. But with the flexibility of changing the font to six different sizes, reading was easier.
The 6 inch screen is wider than my PDA, which makes reading even swifter. What I’m not crazy about is the way the newspaper publishers display their content. On my PDA, I can swiftly scan all the headlines and choose what I want to read. On the Kindle, the content is broken down into main headlines such as Front Page, National, International, Arts and so on. I use the new five-way toggle to skim the articles and I can clip the ones I want to read later, a handy feature. But I find this lack of navigation has me hitting the “Next Page” button again and again. The effect of this feature has me reading far more than just a few articles. After an hour, I feel like I’m incredibly well read.
Kindle offers 44 newspaper subscriptions with the majority (33) of them U.S. newspapers. National newspapers such as the NYT, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal are here as are many the dailies in major cities but the southeast is sorely underrepresented. The only ones offered are from Atlanta and Richmond. But if you want to read the Shanghai Daily or Le Monde, you are in luck.
I’m in a bit of a sticker shock. To read the papers on the Kindle you have to pay a monthly subscription fee, which ranges from $5.99 for the Orlando Sentinel to a whopping $14.99 for the Wall Street Journal. The Times is $13.99. While there are whole conversations within the media industry to try to monetize their online content, most newspapers (except for the WSJ which started out and continues to offer a fee-based subscription online) are free. I can read the entire Sunday NYT online with my laptop for free. The good news is that they offer a two week trial. I sign up for the NYT, USA Today and WSJ.
Kindle’s electronic ink makes it very easy to read in both direct sunlight and shade. I would love it if they would consider adding a nightlight for easier reading in bed. But with the flexibility of changing the font to six different sizes, reading was easier.
The 6 inch screen is wider than my PDA, which makes reading even swifter. What I’m not crazy about is the way the newspaper publishers display their content. On my PDA, I can swiftly scan all the headlines and choose what I want to read. On the Kindle, the content is broken down into main headlines such as Front Page, National, International, Arts and so on. I use the new five-way toggle to skim the articles and I can clip the ones I want to read later, a handy feature. But I find this lack of navigation has me hitting the “Next Page” button again and again. The effect of this feature has me reading far more than just a few articles. After an hour, I feel like I’m incredibly well read.
Friday, July 24, 2009
7 Days of Kindle: Day 1
As an avid reader, geek and techie I couldn’t resist the offer to take the new Kindle 2, Amazon’s proprietary electronic book reader, for a seven-day spin. Having recently read the book, “Julie & Julia” – where author Julie Powell cooks every recipe from Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and blogs about it for 365 days, I felt like a week’s worth of blogging was not only doable but sounded like fun. As actress Amy Adams says in the movie version of “Julie & Julia,” ‘I have thoughts!’ And anyone who knows me knows I’m not scared of sharing them.
On Thursday, the package from Amazon arrived and I felt like it was Christmas in July. Though one should not, normally, judge a book by its cover, I like the details. The whimsical phrase on the side of Kindle’s box “Once upon a time…” suggests this will not be any ordinary technical gizmo.
On Thursday, the package from Amazon arrived and I felt like it was Christmas in July. Though one should not, normally, judge a book by its cover, I like the details. The whimsical phrase on the side of Kindle’s box “Once upon a time…” suggests this will not be any ordinary technical gizmo.
My goal for the next seven days is simple: do all my normal reading on the Kindle and see how it compares. My daily reading diet consists of two daily newspapers, a dozen blogs and an array of four or five books at various stages – in addition to our book club’s monthly selection. To maintain this information influx, I use a combination of laptop, BlackBerry and lug around a duffle bag just for reading material. The idea of swapping those 10-pounds for the sleek convenience of the Kindle, which weighs 10.2 ounces, is exhilarating.
I plug in the Kindle overnight to make sure it’s fully charged and can’t wait until day 2.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
August 2009 Book Club Selection: Gifts from the Sea
As we face the peak of summer, we all slow down just a bit more and start to contemplate life and what’s important. This is a time honored tradition of the season. Author Anne Morrow Lindbergh wrote “Gifts from the Sea” in the ‘50s but her advice and contemplation rings true for women of every age and at every stage of their lives, including those living in this fast-paced millennium. Lindbergh’s key question: How can a woman blend all her roles of mother, sister, daughter and friend while still having time for herself?
It was a question the author lived her entire life. Lindbergh led a life of adventure. She is the first American woman who earned a first class glider’s pilot license in 1930 and travelled with her husband, Charles Lindbergh around the world. Their son’s kidnapping, the famed Lindbergh baby case, was the scandal of the 30s. She moved to France shortly after the kidnapping trial and went on to raise five other children.
Lindbergh remained a woman of accomplishment for decades and wrote more than a dozen books. In 2001, she died, just four years before “Gifts” celebrated its 50th year in print. Join us on Monday, August 17 at Barnes & Noble at Carolina Pineville Mall at 7 PM to discuss what I like to think of as a palate cleanser for the mind and soul. RSVP by e-mailing bookclub@carolinaweeklynewspapers.com.
-Alison Woo
Maryann McFadden Visits Charlotte!
Author Maryann McFadden signs So Happy Together at Charlotte's Park Road Books
Mobile post sent by bookmaven using Utterli.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Dorothea Benton Clark Visits Charlotte!
Fans of Dorothea Benton Clark united at ImaginOn last week as the best-selling author came to the Queen City to discuss her newest book, "Return to Sullivan Island," her career and what's she's doing next.
Have you read "Return to Sullivan's Island?" The action in this family drama starts on the first page and is quite a saga. Pick it up at your local bookseller for a fun and frothy summer read.
Celebrating "Speaking Volumes"
Happy Bastille Day everyone!
It's the day to celebrate French indpendence and the fourth anniversary of our book club.
Join us tonight at Crepe Cellar in NoDa for a spectacular party with a menu from the page to the plate of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." Some of the delicious goodies include Mussels in white wine sauce, roasted chicken, croque monsieur and Crepes Suzette!
Ticket prices are $15. E-mail me at bookclub@carolinaweeklynewspapers.com to RSVP. Only 8 seats are left!
Hope to see you there!
Alison
It's the day to celebrate French indpendence and the fourth anniversary of our book club.
Join us tonight at Crepe Cellar in NoDa for a spectacular party with a menu from the page to the plate of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." Some of the delicious goodies include Mussels in white wine sauce, roasted chicken, croque monsieur and Crepes Suzette!
Ticket prices are $15. E-mail me at bookclub@carolinaweeklynewspapers.com to RSVP. Only 8 seats are left!
Hope to see you there!
Alison
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Mecklenburg Library to Close on Sundays
It's a sad note on the times. All Mecklenburg County libraries will be closed on Sundays beginning in July.
Writes PLCMC....
"The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (PLCMC) will implement new summer hours starting July 5 and ending September 6. During this time all 24 libraries in Mecklenburg County will be closed on Sundays. This change will affect the hours at seven libraries which are normally open on Sundays: Main Library, ImaginOn, Independence, Morrison, South County, University City and North County. Barring any other changes to the economy, Sunday hours at these locations will resume on September 13."
For more, click the PLCMC website.
Writes PLCMC....
"The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (PLCMC) will implement new summer hours starting July 5 and ending September 6. During this time all 24 libraries in Mecklenburg County will be closed on Sundays. This change will affect the hours at seven libraries which are normally open on Sundays: Main Library, ImaginOn, Independence, Morrison, South County, University City and North County. Barring any other changes to the economy, Sunday hours at these locations will resume on September 13."
For more, click the PLCMC website.
Monday, June 15, 2009
July 2009 Book Selection: Julie & Julia by Julie Powell
Hello all!
This month we have a lot to celebrate!
It’s now the book club’s fourth anniversary! Wow! Where does the time go?
So in honor of summer and celebrations, we’re reading “Julie and Julia” the wonderful book about how a fellow Brooklyn girl took Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking and committed herself to cooking every single recipe in a year.
To celebrate, we’re planning a festive party to not only commemorate our anniversary but also Bastille Day on Tuesday, July 14. Look to this blog for more details as soon as we can confirm them.
In the meantime, plan on spending some seriously fun time with the book. We’re also trying to see if we can work out an arrangement to see the movie, with Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, when it comes out in August. More on that soon, too!
Please RSVP by e-mailing me at alison@thecharlotteweekly.com.
Thank you book clubbers for making book club such a fabulous place to be! Here’s to Year 5!
Alison
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
June 2009 Book Club Selection
The book I can’t put down these days is Kathryn Stockett’s “The Help.” It’s a fantastic story of three women whose lives intersect during the ‘60s in Mississippi.
That’s why I was thrilled when her publicist said yes to our book club’s request to host Ms. Stockett at our next book club function.
Join us on Thursday, June 4, at 7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble at Carolina Place Mall. We’re expecting a big crowd so please R.S.V.P. by e-mailing me at alison@thecharlotteweekly.com.
Stay tuned! There will be an exclusive interview with Ms. Stockett on this blog shortly. To read more about her, visit the author’s website at www.kathrynstockett.com
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
New News from Alison
Look to this blog for weekly updates on the latest on book club news, book reviews and everything else as we transition from print to the web.
Mobile post sent by bookmaven using Utterli.
Speaking Volumes Selection for April 2009: The Alchemist by Paul Coelho
I believe that the right book finds you at exactly the moment you need it. With thousands of people around the globe in dire straights for a variety of reasons, there’s never been a better time to look within. This month, our book club selection takes readers on one character’s thrilling voyage within. Our selection is Paul Coelho’s “The Alchemist.”
The story is a mythical tale with parallels to our everyday lives. It is the story of Santiago, a young boy in Spain and his quest to discover his personal legend. He is guided by dreams and the way events in his life unfold. Besides the book’s poetic quality, the story aims to help everyone understand that each life has a purpose and it seeks to help us understand how to find it.
Author Paul Coehlo is a Brazilian journalist, actor, theater director turned novelist. In 1986, he walked the famed Christian pilgrimage path in northern Spain, known as the Santiago de Compostela. A year later he documented his walk in the book, “The Pilgrimage” – a book I read and fueled my own passion to walk the same path later this year in June. A year later, Coehlo wrote “The Alchemist.”
Despite initial slow sales, the book is now one of the single most successful books in modern literature. Last year, the book celebrated its 20th anniversary with an announcement that actor Lawrence Fishbourne and producer Harvey Weinstein would make the book into a movie. The book has been on a bestseller lists in 74 countries, and so far has sold 35 million copies. In 2008, it earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for most translated book in the world – 67 languages.
Join us Thursday, April 30 at 7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble at Carolina Place Mall to discuss this exciting work. Please RSVP by e-mailing bookclub@carolinaweeklynewsgroup.com.
The story is a mythical tale with parallels to our everyday lives. It is the story of Santiago, a young boy in Spain and his quest to discover his personal legend. He is guided by dreams and the way events in his life unfold. Besides the book’s poetic quality, the story aims to help everyone understand that each life has a purpose and it seeks to help us understand how to find it.
Author Paul Coehlo is a Brazilian journalist, actor, theater director turned novelist. In 1986, he walked the famed Christian pilgrimage path in northern Spain, known as the Santiago de Compostela. A year later he documented his walk in the book, “The Pilgrimage” – a book I read and fueled my own passion to walk the same path later this year in June. A year later, Coehlo wrote “The Alchemist.”
Despite initial slow sales, the book is now one of the single most successful books in modern literature. Last year, the book celebrated its 20th anniversary with an announcement that actor Lawrence Fishbourne and producer Harvey Weinstein would make the book into a movie. The book has been on a bestseller lists in 74 countries, and so far has sold 35 million copies. In 2008, it earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for most translated book in the world – 67 languages.
Join us Thursday, April 30 at 7 p.m. at Barnes & Noble at Carolina Place Mall to discuss this exciting work. Please RSVP by e-mailing bookclub@carolinaweeklynewsgroup.com.
-Alison Woo
Friday, April 03, 2009
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency comes to HBO
Dearest readers,
If you are looking for the most magnificent example of how to take a beloved book and take it to the screen, look no further. Alexander McCall Smith (former SV book club author)and artists such as Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella have brought the best-selling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series to HBO.
Make sure you tune to HBO every Sunday night at 8 PM EST for the latest installment. You won't be disappointed. It is a pure delight. Seeing the first installment last Sunday made me start reading the series all over again. Watch the trailer below!
If you are looking for the most magnificent example of how to take a beloved book and take it to the screen, look no further. Alexander McCall Smith (former SV book club author)and artists such as Sydney Pollack and Anthony Minghella have brought the best-selling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series to HBO.
Make sure you tune to HBO every Sunday night at 8 PM EST for the latest installment. You won't be disappointed. It is a pure delight. Seeing the first installment last Sunday made me start reading the series all over again. Watch the trailer below!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Thank you...
My deepest thanks to all the book club members and Weekly newspaper readers who have been so kind to share their condolences, prayers and best wishes after my family's recent loss of my beloved brother, Mike.
Many of you have shared your own stories of love and loss and it's humbling. When something like this happens, it underscores how important it is that each of us spend each day with people and doing the things that make our heart sing.
I am forever grateful to all the book club members and the staff at Carolina Weekly Newspaper Group for being such a wonderful family of people whom I love dearly.
With all my heart,
Thank you.
Alison
Many of you have shared your own stories of love and loss and it's humbling. When something like this happens, it underscores how important it is that each of us spend each day with people and doing the things that make our heart sing.
I am forever grateful to all the book club members and the staff at Carolina Weekly Newspaper Group for being such a wonderful family of people whom I love dearly.
With all my heart,
Thank you.
Alison
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