Time Machines

At work I'm helping write book reviews, so when customers click "gimme this" (like Sci Fi Classics) a staff review of that type book will appear. I chose H.G Wells' "The Time Machine to review. Wells published this in 1895, and it is considered a seminal work in the genre.
Right off, I liked the tale's moodiness: how the "well known" dinner guests in the opening pages remain oddly anonymous - while the room they are in is described in meticulous detail. He sets a mood of juxtaposing the normal with the strange. And the "the time traveler" expects his dinner guests (and us) to believe his fantastic story entirely. It's akin to being invited to dinner by a friend who has just returned from an alien abduction.

Anyway, I haven't finished this book, small as it is, yet. When it's done I will write the review.

Imagine - this was written when the only time machines was clocks and watches. Before technology as we currently take it for granted. And before the benefit of years of watching sci fi TV and movies. HG Wells had to make this up out of his own imagination, folks.

Online Tutorial for Blurb's Book Making Software

Check out this Blurb.com tutorial for their downloadable book making software. Did you ever have a book you wished you could make? I've been busting with ideas for photo books, art books, even funky poetry books...and if I download this, it eliminates my excuses. Not to mention making easier a process I struggled with on my first try. I am also thinking how helpful it would be to recommend a tool like this to library users who are into digital photography. Nothing replaces firsthand experience with a tool. Take a look:


Getting Started with Blurb Booksmart from Blurb Books on Vimeo.

What I'm Reading Today

Out of the Night That Covers Me by Pat Cunningham Devoto

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


12-year old John McMillan III navigates small-town Alabama after losing his parents. Indifferent or dangerous relatives are offset by a wise local “judge” and an array of other fascinating characters. In this book the wise have plenty of flaws too, as the Civil Rights movement gets underway. I enjoyed the complex ambience, and the way the characters talk to – and about - each other. I'm becoming a fan of Pat Cunningham Devoto. I'll have to read her other books now.

Some have compared this to To Kill a Mockingbird.





View all my reviews

Rosanne Cash: She is just so - Composed

 Rosanne Cash has written a book that I like very much. Her haunting and lovely music has always drawn me. (September When it Comes has the Scottish feel of the Cash heritage.) Her 1996 book "Bodies of Water" made me aware of what a fine thinker and writer she is. She reads from her 2010 memoir ("Composed") on her website. "Mrs L" (aka Rosanne) talks about her life in a way that is pleasing because it feels so ordinary. She seems to me like a person who stands out - and apart - from what you might expect of a child of celebrity. Follow the "About Composed" link beneath the picture of her newest book to hear her read:

http://mrslsmonthly.tumblr.com/

My First Podcast: Bilingual Storybook

This is my first attempt at podcasting! I love this little story of a family moving from Mexico to the U.S. Text is in both English and Spanish with wonderful illustrations, as you can see. This is page one. Listen in.

Sony Reader Tutorial

In preparation for practicing with our library's new E-readers, I'm scouring the Internet for hands-on tutorials. This one has its flaws, but the user shows various ports and delivers a running commentary while showing the device. Nothing can replace working with the real thing though.

Practicing with Publisher

I have been writing some book reviews and formatting them in an old version of Publisher. I don't quite understand how to export it from Publisher to the Internet in Web format, or if it is even possible to post an exported web page to a blog. While I learn if I can, here is a review of a wonderful book, uploaded as a JPEG file. Results below.