Having said that, I suppose you can guess what I did. I bought an e-reader – a Kindle 3, specifically. Why did I do this, considering how I’ve long felt about e-books? Let’s see:

Foreign Languages

The initial reason I started thinking about getting a Kindle was to be able to read foreign language books on it, as they wouldn’t have any hefty shipping costs associated with them. A $10 book from amazon.de or amazon.fr can end up being closer to $30 after shipping fees are added on.

I was also really interested in reading foreign language stuff and having a built-in dictionary at the ready, but more on that in a second.

A Pile of Books In One Spot

I’m notorious with friends and family about having multiple books going at the same time. Despite repeated efforts to stop this focus splitting activity, I’ve had little success, so I finally just accepted it. If I’m going to be reading two or three books all at the same time, why not have a nifty gadget that has all of those books (and a bunch of others) on it?

First Impressions

I’ve only had it for a few weeks, but so far, I really like it. I’m pretty sure I’ve actually been reading more since getting it. I won’t go on about the e-ink screen much, other than to say: wow. Weirdly like paper, particularly when a screensaver is up. I can read on it for hours without any more eyestrain than I’d have from a regular book. The weight is also pretty amazing; it’s much, much easier to read in bed with the Kindle than it is to read with a 5 pound, 1000 page hardback. I’ve not really messed with the experimental browser much, as it’s pretty clunky after using my iPhone, but it might come in handy some day.

The only thing I’m not very happy about is the fact that it’s apparently a bit of a pain to add foreign language dictionaries, at least for automatic lookups. I’ve poked around some and there seem to be ways to do it, but I’ve not messed with it a whole lot. I had hoped to just be able to buy an electronic dictionary directly from amazon, have it downloaded to my Kindle, and be done. No dice, unfortunately.

Having said that, I’m still glad I bought it. I doubt I’m ever going to go all-electronic with my books, but I can now at least say that in regards to e-books, with the right device, I’m a believer.

The repair was to be rather simple. I had a Collins Concise German-English dictionary which had a cracked spine, and I was going to strengthen it by putting a small line of glue down into the crack. So, I got some Elmer’s craft glue and some wax paper to put into the book while the glue was drying, so as to avoid having excess glue bind the pages together.

The wax paper ended up being a rather nasty mistake. I had read a number of “how to repair books” websites, and thought that I’d read that wax paper could be used for this kind of repair. Apparently, I got wax paper and plastic – like an LP sleeve – mixed up. Wax paper is used in some types of book repair, but blocking craft glue from spreading onto the pages of your book isn’t one of them.

The end result was that this morning, when I opened the dictionary to check out my handiwork, I found the wax paper stuck quite securely down into the spine of the book. I thought that I’d be able to still get it out successfully by pulling on it slowly, but I was wrong. When I finally got it out, it ripped out 4 pages of the dictionary with it, tearing 2 of them quite badly. Not quite the repair I’d had in mind… Oops.

I ended up throwing the dictionary away. I can get a new copy for $10, and while I could have repaired the damage I’d done*, I didn’t really want to be reminded of my stupidity everytime I opened the book.

* Then again, I thought I could repair the cracked spine, too, and we see how that turned out.

Update: Apparently, I wasn’t 100% wrong. A number of reputable book repair guides say to use wax paper to excess glue from sticking the pages together. The key mistake I made – combining wax paper and craft glue. All of the book repair guides are talking about using PVA glue or wheat paste.

Apparently, amazon.com is already doing this with some books. A few days ago I bought French Grammar: A Complete Reference Guide; after purchasing it, I was given the option to get the digital version as well, for a mere $1.89. I of course jumped on the option.

I’m not crazy about the implementation, as you have to login amazon.com to read it, and the reading is done in their online reader (the same system which you can preview books in). It makes sense, though; if they allowed PDF downloads they’d be all over the internet in a matter of hours.

The online reader lets you highlight and add annotations, as well as make an unlimited number of bookmarks. You can then search the whole book, just bookmarked pages, highlighted text, or your notes. The only feature which seems to be a bit wonky right now is the copy feature. Standard copy and paste is disabled in the reader, so you have to select the text you’re after and then press a “Copy” button at the top of the controls. However, when I try this, a little “Loading…” window pops up, and stays there indefinitely.

Still, though, it’s cool to see things moving in this direction. I wish I could upgrade my long-ago purhased copy of Hammer’s German Grammar and Usage, but it looks like it’s not yet available in digital format.

Of course, I wouldn’t want to buy each book twice at full price. In the future, I’d like to see some sort of sysem that allowed one to buy the ebook at a deeply discounted price when you purchased the hard copy; say, if I buy a $40 German grammar text, I can add the ebook version to my amazon.com cart at checkout for $10. I would assume the publishers would still be making money here; how much does it cost to print an ebook? I suppose preparation of the ebook has to be considered, but I’m guessing the bulk of publishing prep is now done on computers, so how much preparation work could there be?

Apparently, I’m not the only one wanting this. And indeed, if I could buy a hard copy of a book and get an ultra cheap digital version thrown into the basket… well, I might just hop onto the ebook bandwagon. Quick, someone buy me a Kindle!

I dreamt this morning¹ that I was at a massive shopping area; it seemed like it was a flea market or some such, but it was in something akin to a warehouse; very tall ceilings. We were at a used book place, except rather than browsing the shelves, you stood in line, and people “took your order”, as it were. The counter was piled with books, so while waiting, I picked up a book with a blue cover, and, lo’ and behold! It was a copy of Russian without Toil, printed in the 70s. Having the German version of the book, I obviously wanted (but didn’t need) the corresponding English version. They also only wanted $1.16 for it. No, I don’t know why it was a dollar and sixteen cents in my dream.

I’m not sure why we were at a flea market-ish place without any cash, but we were. I asked them if they took debit or credit, and the lady said yes. So, I reached to my back pocket, only to discover that I didn’t have a back pocket for my wallet, as I was wearing my boxers. Okay, then! I’m not sure what exactly happened, but in the next part of my dream, I found myself at home with the book.

By the time I got home, however, the title had changed – literally. When I looked at the cover of the book, it was for a completely different language. In my dream, it was something like “Yeradov ohne Mühe”; I remember not knowing what language that was, so I googled it, and discovered on Wikipedia that it was the Russian word for Hungarian.² And yes, the base language of the book had morphed as well – from English to German. Fiddlesticks, the base being English was why I wanted it to begin with! I recall being a bit bummed that it had changed to Hungarian, but decided that I’d probably want to have a go at it later, so it joined all of my other books on the shelf.

I think such a dream is worth at least 50 Geekery points. Maybe 75.

1. I tend to only remember dreams that I have after I’ve woken up in the morning, and then fallen back to sleep. I’ve no idea why. Does anyone else have this?
2. Not really, of course – that would be Венгерский язык.

Do you remember how you developed a love for reading?

No, not really. Basically, as far back as my memory goes, I remember reading. As I’ve gotten older, the obsession love has grown. The idea of not reading baffles me.

What are some books you read as a child?

I recall reading lots and lots of those horrible Goosebump books by R. L. Stein. They were all pretty much the same, and the writing was truly terrible. I remember I read one of my mom’s Mary Higgins Clark books when I was 8 or 9, and only then realized how very pathetic Goosebump books were. But hey, they got a lot of kids reading, so…

What is your favourite genre?

What, I have to choose one? History, then. But fantasy and science fiction come in at a close second and third. And, generally, I like to cast my net wide, and see what I catch. While I do stay away from romance novels, if it has words on a printed page, I’ll usually read it.

Do you have a favourite novel?

Lord of the Rings, as it ended up shaping my character a great deal. It led to my interest in history, languages, as well as (obviously) the fantasy genre.

Where do you usually read?

Anywhere and everywhere. Regardless of where I am, I typically have a book on hand. I read in bed, sitting around the house, in classrooms before my classes start, at the library reference desk where I work, waiting in line at the post office… Like I said, just about anywhere.

When do you usually read?

Pretty much anytime I can. I don’t really have any set times for when I read, but I do have a few time slots that are fairly regular: before bed, and before classes. I’m quite weird about making sure I’m early for classes, often half an hour or so early; I typically use that time to read.

Do you usually have more than one book you are reading at a time?

Not “usually”, but always. I’ve accepted that I’m incapable of sticking to one book at a time. This leads to it taking me months to finish some books, but that’s fine by me. If someone offers me prize money for getting through books more quickly, I’ll consider changing my reading habits. Until then: the more the merrier, I say.

Do you read non-fiction in a different way or place than you read fiction?

I don’t read it in a different place, but I do read it a bit differently. With fiction books, I can lay them down at any time, knowing that I can pick it up hours or days later, and be able to pick up the thread quickly. I’m unable to do this with a lot of my non-fiction books, particularly history. There’s just too many strands, names, dates, concepts etc. in the text for me to be able to stop mid-paragraph. When reading non-fiction (especially history), I really prefer to stop at breaks in the text which the author has inserted.

I also will occasionally take notes while reading non-fiction, something I don’t do very often at all with fiction.

Do you buy most of the books you read, or borrow them, or check them out of the library?

A mix of the first, last, and one other path: book mooching. I’ll buy books or mooch them, but usually only after I’ve checked them out from the library to see if I really want my own copy. I’d say at this point in my life, the balance is tipping towards “library”; by using OhioLINK through my school, I can get pretty much whatever I want for free. Throw in 4 renewals, and I can keep books for months on end if I want.

Do you keep most of the books you buy? If not, what do you do with them?

Most of them, yes. Due to how I go about deciding on what books I’m going to purchase, I don’t really end up owning a lot of books that I don’t want. Those that do fit that description, though, end up going to Bookmooch.

If you have children, what are some of the favorite books you have shared with them? Were they some of the same ones you read as a child?

Due to his interests, most of the books I’ve read to my son have involved bulldozers, tractors, and other such things. I still have a few books from my childhood, though, that I read to him: one is a compilation of 3 stories: 1 about firemen, 1 about cars and other vehicles, and Scruffy the Tugboat. (Yes, the first two have titles, I just can’t remember them off the top of my head.)

He’s also fallen in love with a book I got for him from the library, Take Care, Good Knight.

What are you reading now?

• The Third Reich in Power by Richard J. Evans
• The Middle Ages by Morris Bishop
• Europe in the Central Middle Ages, 962-1154 by Christopher Brooke
• A bunch of foreign language books – Assimil’s French with Ease, Assimil’s Russisch ohne Mühe (Russian without Toil in German), New Penguin Russian Course
• The Human Mosaic: A Thematic Introduction to Cultural Geography (for a class)
• A compilation of literature from the beginning of history to the Renaissance period (also for a class)

Do you keep a “To Be Read” list?

Nope, not in any concrete form. I’ve tried to keep them in the past, but they just grew to be monstrous in size, and ultimately unhelpful. I decide I’m going to read when I’m reading to start something new.

What’s next to be read?

I don’t know. I’m not ready to start something new yet.

What books would you like to reread?

Most of my history books; Lord of the Rings, which I reread every few years. Other than Lord of the Rings, though, it probably won’t happen. I tend to not reread many things, as there are too many books that I want to read that I’ve not yet read.

Who are your favourite authors?

Tolkien; Terry Pratchett; Iain Banks; Antony Beevor; Stephen King.

As opposed to the vast quantities of unreadable non-fiction they have available… ? Yes, yes, do check out our readable non-fiction, it’s right over there. That stuff way back in the back? Utterly unreadable. Don’t even bother looking at it.

1. In German, they’ve figured out how to avoid saying “handy cellphone.” How? They call a cellphone a “Handy”. “Gib’ mir mein Handy!” [Give me my cellphone!] Awful, isn’t it?

… an Amazon.com subsidiary. We offer open box, refurbished, and slightly damaged merchandise at reduced prices with the benefits of Amazon.com fulfillment and customer service. Satisfaction is guaranteed!

It sounded like a good deal. Getting the book from them shaved nearly $15 off the price, and yet amazon.com would actually be fulfilling the order? Cool.

The book arrived a few days after I ordered it, as I’ve pretty much come to expect from amazon.com. As they filled the order, it came in the usual amazon.com box. However, something was a bit – off. Observe:

Looks pretty normal, right? But wait… what’s up with the rubber band? That’s a new feature. Let’s see how things look on the flip side (literally). Aha!

Apparently, they figured out that if they just replaced a big swath of packing tape with one rubber band, they’d save millions of dollars in the long run. Unfortunately, one rubber band isn’t quite as secure. That is, it’s not secure at all. I’m glad I’m a nerd; if there’d been something in there that someone normal would actually want, I probably would have received an empty box. My rubber band might have even been gone!

Bad, amazon.com! Bad!

1. Using French, for those of you who’re interested. More of my foreign language geekery over here.

I’ve thus far finished the first book of the Dark Elf Trilogy, Homeland. It was a fun read, but it could have been better; there were some things in it that drove me a bit bonkers, to be honest. One in particular? Salvatore’s (over)usage of varied tag lines in dialogue. In a short guide for writing dialogue, the guide at fictionwriting.about.com wrote:

6. Don’t try too hard to vary your tag lines when writing dialogue.
Veering too much beyond “he said/she said” only draws attention to the tags. Readers tend to read over these phrases anyway, whereas obvious efforts to insert variety, through words such as “interjected,” “counseled,” or “conceded,” draw the reader out of the action. If the writer is doing his or her work, the reader is already aware that the speaker is interjecting, counseling, or conceding. The writer won’t have to say it again in the tag.

I’ve seen this advice elsewhere on the ‘net, and it’s true – while you’d think “he / she said” over and over would get old, it really doesn’t. We’re used to it, we see it, we skim it, it’s gone – all we’re really taking in are the words that the characters are speaking. This is infinitely better than the reader stumbling over different (and at times peculiar!) tag words repeatedly.

Salvatore’s evil dark elf characters “said” a lot, but they also “grumbled” and “mumbled” a good deal. The two tag words that topped the charts, though? Snapped and growled. While I’m sure my perception of them was exaggerated due to some mild frustration on my part, I would have swore that one of these words adorned every single page of the book. Had they been used once or twice in the whole book, they would have caught my attention and given weight to the dialogue. Instead, due to how often I saw them, I started to think – do dark elves have a bit of canine DNA in them or something? They sure do growl and snap a lot…

I’m 15 pages or so into Exile, book 2 of the trilogy; we’ll see if the growls and snaps scare me away. Please, future fiction writers – go easy on such things.

1. Yes, I’ve played these before. No, my love affair with them will never truly end
2. The Forgotten Realms is one of the Dungeons and Dragons settings. More info can be had here.

I now have enough material to write the paper. However, only one of my sources is an article; the other two are books. Therein was my problem before. In a previous class with this professor, he specifically stated: articles only. In this class, he focused on getting everyone in the class up to speed with the school’s article databases, but, in hindsight, he didn’t specifically say that we had to use articles only.

I met with him last Friday and had him look over what I had. He came to the same conclusion I had come to: while each individual article would have been fine to use, they didn’t come together very well at all. While they all dealt with intelligence or espionage, they dealt with different spheres of it. His recommendation? Take one of the articles and get two books that the author of the article had cited repeatedly.

I ended up hurting myself by focusing so much on scholarly articles; while they were stressed much more over books (books were more or less not mentioned in class), I could have gone to the professor sooner and asked. Hell, my paper would be written if I’d done that; I had three different books on the influence that the American Revolution exerted on European countries! To be fair, though, he recognized that he’d stressed articles as well, and he’s going to alter the syllabus for later sessions of the class, to clarify that any academic source can be used – articles, books, etc.

As an aside to all of this, it’s funny how so many people have the peculiar idea that “history is done” – that is, there’s nothing to study per se, if you want to know something, you go and look it up in a book. While this is true for a lot of history, most – all, even – of our history can be expanded upon, and in some specific areas, there’s simply nothing written at all. While there are some books on espionage during the Revolutionary War period, there’s a relative dearth of academic articles on the topic.