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Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reading. Show all posts
Thursday, 19 January 2012
AudioBoo - LOL Funny?
Here are links to the books i mentioned in this Boo:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Super-Sad-True-Love-Story/dp/1847082491/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326966001&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/McCarthys-Bar-Journey-Discovery-Ireland/dp/0340766050/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1326966067&sr=1-1
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
eBooks, Kindle And Me.
I have been meaning to talk about this topic for a while now & was reminded to do so by a tv program i watched last night.
If you get the chance, it is well worth viewing:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01871m9/Imagine_Winter_2011_Books_The_L...
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Compromise?
Would you?
Movies, books, bands & music.
Here's a link to the website i mentioned: http://readit1st.com/
I've just found out that the website was started by a fellow YouTuber & here's his video explaining it all:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI9dqg_f_TI
Sunday, 5 June 2011
Sunday, 13 February 2011
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
Freedom To Read.
Books, libraries, the Internet & learning.
And it's all free.
Support your local library. You never know when you might need it, or want it.
A beach vlog.
Book: John Peel - The Olivetti Chronicles:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Olivetti-Chro...
Friday, 17 September 2010
Thursday, 12 August 2010
Reading, Writing & Blogging.
A follow up video to "A tipping point for eReaders":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rFv5X...
Thanks for all your comments & response to that video & for inspiring this one.
Your thoughts are welcome, as always.
A woodland vlog.
Thursday, 5 August 2010
A Tipping Point For eReaders?
Some thoughts on recent devolpments in the world of books, reading & the rise of the eReader.
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
I Want More.
I have just finished reading The Last Mad Surge Of Youth by Mark Hodkinson. I seem to be on a bit of a reading spree at the moment. It's a fictional account of a rock band from the north of England & especially about the bands singer & songwriter, John Barrett.
Being a big music fan, i must admit i'm a bit of a sucker for novels like this.
Not too long ago i read another, fairly similar, rock music novel, Powder by Kevin Sampson. This one was about a young band from Liverpool.
What is it about young bands from the north of England that attract novelists anyway? Anyone would think that no bands from south of Watford ever get a look in, when it comes to success.
Personally, i think it's all tied up with the idea of lads from a "real" working class background making good. Once again, it makes you wonder if the perception is that nobody from south of Watford is working class. But, maybe that's a topic for another blog, at a later date?
All i can say is that i can highly recommend both books. Especially if you like your music. Both are well written, are easy to read & pretty authentic. Well, as far as i can tell that is.
And that really brings me to the whole point of this blog.
I've come away from both books & others before them, wanting to hear the music that was talked about in the book. Now, obviously, that is not possible, as they are works of fiction. But, it is a little bit frustrating, nevertheless. Throughout the book, you have been buying into these peoples lives & you can almost hear the music in your head, as you read.
I guess that this must be a very good indication of how well written the story is & how much you've immersed youself into that story too. But, it also made me wonder if i'm alone in this?
I very much doubt it. But, it would be good to know anyway.
Now, without giving the story away of "The last mad surge of youth". The ending left a few unanswered questions. Well, it did for me anyway.
And that made me think about another aspect of all of this.
For as much as i want to hear the music that these, fictional, bands produced. I also want to know what happened after the author put down his pen, or walked away from the keyboard.
Once again, this is highly unlikely to happen & for obvious reasons too.
But, that thought, about wanting to know what happened next, can be transferred to just about any novel you've read. Or, indeed, to just about any movie you've ever watched too. Hence the need for all those sequels that you've seen, or read. Well, some of them anyway. I'm not counting the sequels that were just pure money making exercises. And let's be honest, we've all seen far too many of them recently, haven't we?
However many pages a novel may have, or no matter how long a movie may be. We, usually, come away wondering what happened next.
There are, of course, exceptions to this. I'm not expecting a sequel to Thelma & Louise, or Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid any time soon. But, i expect you get the general idea?
Maybe it would be better if we just went back to the days of fairy tales, where all the stories seemed to end with the words "And they all lived happily ever after"? That would solve a lot of the problems wouldn't it?
So, am i alone in this?
Have you ever wanted to hear the music of a fictional band, or artist? Or, have you ever wanted to know what happened to that fictional character that you've just invested all that time reading about?
Or, is it just a case of me wanting more for my money than is actually reasonable?
Now, what shall i read next?
(And, yes, i do realise that there were some TV sequels to the Butch Cassidy movie. But, that just seems to prove my point about a money making exercise)
Being a big music fan, i must admit i'm a bit of a sucker for novels like this.
Not too long ago i read another, fairly similar, rock music novel, Powder by Kevin Sampson. This one was about a young band from Liverpool.
What is it about young bands from the north of England that attract novelists anyway? Anyone would think that no bands from south of Watford ever get a look in, when it comes to success.
Personally, i think it's all tied up with the idea of lads from a "real" working class background making good. Once again, it makes you wonder if the perception is that nobody from south of Watford is working class. But, maybe that's a topic for another blog, at a later date?
All i can say is that i can highly recommend both books. Especially if you like your music. Both are well written, are easy to read & pretty authentic. Well, as far as i can tell that is.
And that really brings me to the whole point of this blog.
I've come away from both books & others before them, wanting to hear the music that was talked about in the book. Now, obviously, that is not possible, as they are works of fiction. But, it is a little bit frustrating, nevertheless. Throughout the book, you have been buying into these peoples lives & you can almost hear the music in your head, as you read.
I guess that this must be a very good indication of how well written the story is & how much you've immersed youself into that story too. But, it also made me wonder if i'm alone in this?
I very much doubt it. But, it would be good to know anyway.
Now, without giving the story away of "The last mad surge of youth". The ending left a few unanswered questions. Well, it did for me anyway.
And that made me think about another aspect of all of this.
For as much as i want to hear the music that these, fictional, bands produced. I also want to know what happened after the author put down his pen, or walked away from the keyboard.
Once again, this is highly unlikely to happen & for obvious reasons too.
But, that thought, about wanting to know what happened next, can be transferred to just about any novel you've read. Or, indeed, to just about any movie you've ever watched too. Hence the need for all those sequels that you've seen, or read. Well, some of them anyway. I'm not counting the sequels that were just pure money making exercises. And let's be honest, we've all seen far too many of them recently, haven't we?
However many pages a novel may have, or no matter how long a movie may be. We, usually, come away wondering what happened next.
There are, of course, exceptions to this. I'm not expecting a sequel to Thelma & Louise, or Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid any time soon. But, i expect you get the general idea?
Maybe it would be better if we just went back to the days of fairy tales, where all the stories seemed to end with the words "And they all lived happily ever after"? That would solve a lot of the problems wouldn't it?
So, am i alone in this?
Have you ever wanted to hear the music of a fictional band, or artist? Or, have you ever wanted to know what happened to that fictional character that you've just invested all that time reading about?
Or, is it just a case of me wanting more for my money than is actually reasonable?
Now, what shall i read next?
(And, yes, i do realise that there were some TV sequels to the Butch Cassidy movie. But, that just seems to prove my point about a money making exercise)
Friday, 18 June 2010
Thursday, 18 March 2010
Sunday, 31 January 2010
Strange Days Indeed.
Well, these past few weeks have been rather strange ones for me.
As some of you may be aware, my father died on Sunday January 17th.
This was not a huge shock, as he was very nearly 93 years old & had been in hospital right over the Christmas & New Year period. But, regardless of how well you think you are prepared for what we did see as quite possibly, the inevitable, the shock when that end comes, is still a little hard to take.
As i said in a recent YouTube video that i made, one of a series, the hardest thing to take is the sudden realisation that you will never see that person again. I still can't quite believe it & probably won't for a while to come yet. My mother, who has coped remarkably well so far, still has days when she fully expects him to come home from the hospital.
The word i would use to describe how i've felt over these past two weeks, is surreal. It's almost as if you are walking around in a slight daze.
I have not been overly affected by what has happened, which has surprised me a little. But i have still felt rather weird, especially at certain times.
Maybe the full effect has not hit me yet? This may be the case, as the funeral is not until this Wednesday. That will be a strange day indeed.
But, the main reason for writing this blog was not to concentrate on all of those negative things that, inevitably, come about because of a parents death. But, rather to accentuate the positive things that have come out of it.
For one, this has made me do some re-evaluating about my own life. It has certainly made me realise, even more than i did before, that life needs to be lived & it needs to be lived now.
I have always been someone who has said yes to opportunities that have come my way. But, now i wonder if i should be the one trying to create even more opportunities for myself?
Time will tell, i suppose, if these thoughts will ever lead to anything. But, if you don't have those thoughts in the first place, nothing will ever change will it?
Another aspect, has been the way that my fathers death has made us all revisit his life & realise just what a full & interesting life he actually led.
I've heard stories about my father that i had never heard before. One in particular that sticks in my mind was about the evening, in the 1960's, when he played the piano in a pub & was bought several drinks of appreciation by Brian Epstein, The Beatles manager. How cool is that?
My mother has also learnt a lot about his earlier life.
Because of my own interest in family history, i got my father to write down & tell me about his early life, especially about his service in World War 2. My mother had never heard many of these stories.
My father lived through The Blitz, in London. He was also at the Battle of El Alamein, in North Africa & was in London during the VE Day celebrations at the end of WW2.
As i said, an interesting life.
So, all of this has helped me to re-evaluate what my father meant to me.
One of the main things, i feel, is the influence that he has had on my own life. Right from the physical attributes, i am the same height, build & wear the same size shoes as he did for example.
There are also such influences as his love of music, reading & a general inquisitive ineterst in the world around him.
All of these things, i have inherited from him. I am very grateful for all of them.
So, as i said. There are even some positive aspects to come out of even the worst times.
We all know that we are influenced by parents. But, sometimes it takes an event like this to remind us of just how much of an influence they have.
And if, like me, you have children of your own. It makes you realise what kind of influence you will, inevitably, have on your own children.
As some of you may be aware, my father died on Sunday January 17th.
This was not a huge shock, as he was very nearly 93 years old & had been in hospital right over the Christmas & New Year period. But, regardless of how well you think you are prepared for what we did see as quite possibly, the inevitable, the shock when that end comes, is still a little hard to take.
As i said in a recent YouTube video that i made, one of a series, the hardest thing to take is the sudden realisation that you will never see that person again. I still can't quite believe it & probably won't for a while to come yet. My mother, who has coped remarkably well so far, still has days when she fully expects him to come home from the hospital.
The word i would use to describe how i've felt over these past two weeks, is surreal. It's almost as if you are walking around in a slight daze.
I have not been overly affected by what has happened, which has surprised me a little. But i have still felt rather weird, especially at certain times.
Maybe the full effect has not hit me yet? This may be the case, as the funeral is not until this Wednesday. That will be a strange day indeed.
But, the main reason for writing this blog was not to concentrate on all of those negative things that, inevitably, come about because of a parents death. But, rather to accentuate the positive things that have come out of it.
For one, this has made me do some re-evaluating about my own life. It has certainly made me realise, even more than i did before, that life needs to be lived & it needs to be lived now.
I have always been someone who has said yes to opportunities that have come my way. But, now i wonder if i should be the one trying to create even more opportunities for myself?
Time will tell, i suppose, if these thoughts will ever lead to anything. But, if you don't have those thoughts in the first place, nothing will ever change will it?
Another aspect, has been the way that my fathers death has made us all revisit his life & realise just what a full & interesting life he actually led.
I've heard stories about my father that i had never heard before. One in particular that sticks in my mind was about the evening, in the 1960's, when he played the piano in a pub & was bought several drinks of appreciation by Brian Epstein, The Beatles manager. How cool is that?
My mother has also learnt a lot about his earlier life.
Because of my own interest in family history, i got my father to write down & tell me about his early life, especially about his service in World War 2. My mother had never heard many of these stories.
My father lived through The Blitz, in London. He was also at the Battle of El Alamein, in North Africa & was in London during the VE Day celebrations at the end of WW2.
As i said, an interesting life.
So, all of this has helped me to re-evaluate what my father meant to me.
One of the main things, i feel, is the influence that he has had on my own life. Right from the physical attributes, i am the same height, build & wear the same size shoes as he did for example.
There are also such influences as his love of music, reading & a general inquisitive ineterst in the world around him.
All of these things, i have inherited from him. I am very grateful for all of them.
So, as i said. There are even some positive aspects to come out of even the worst times.
We all know that we are influenced by parents. But, sometimes it takes an event like this to remind us of just how much of an influence they have.
And if, like me, you have children of your own. It makes you realise what kind of influence you will, inevitably, have on your own children.
Thursday, 7 January 2010
Reading In Bed.
Last night i got to the point where i couldn't work up too much enthusiasm for the Internet (shock, horror!) Well, it was cold & snowy.
What that has to do with the Internet, i have no idea. But, hey...
So, i thought, "i know what i'll do, i'll go to bed early & read my new book".
Now, anybody who reads in bed can probably guess what i'm going to say next?
Anyway, a few pages into the book & my eyes are starting to get tired & i find that i can hardly keep my eyes open! The book was fine, interesting & very readable, so why did this happen?
I'm afraid i can't answer that question, but it's something that always seems to happen.
You feel wide awake. But, as soon as you get into bed, open that book & start to read. Suddenly, it's as if a switch has been turned on & before you know it, you can't keep your eyes open.
Now, i know that i'm not alone in this happening to me. So, i guess i can console myself with that. But, nevertheless, it is bloody annoying.
One of the worst aspects is that you end up reading the same page, or pages over & over again. You have to keep going back, trying to find the place, or page that you can actually remember reading. Another aspect, is that it obviously ends up taking far longer to read a book, which may well end up putting you off bothering next time around.
So, is reading in bed a bad idea?
I tend to think not. At least you are reading in the first place. Which can only be a good thing.
It's far better, in my opinion, than watching the TV.
So many people watch the TV in bed & use it as an aid to sleeping. For relaxation yes, but as an aid for sleeping? I've even heard people say that they need to have the TV on to actually get them off to sleep. Personally, that's one thing that i just don't understand.
Maybe, somebody can tell me why that is?
I fully intend to keep on reading. After all, i enjoy it too much to stop. But, maybe i should try & do it before i get into bed?
That way i might be able to fool my eyes into thinking it's actually alright for them to remain open.
At least for a while anyway.
What that has to do with the Internet, i have no idea. But, hey...
So, i thought, "i know what i'll do, i'll go to bed early & read my new book".
Now, anybody who reads in bed can probably guess what i'm going to say next?
Anyway, a few pages into the book & my eyes are starting to get tired & i find that i can hardly keep my eyes open! The book was fine, interesting & very readable, so why did this happen?
I'm afraid i can't answer that question, but it's something that always seems to happen.
You feel wide awake. But, as soon as you get into bed, open that book & start to read. Suddenly, it's as if a switch has been turned on & before you know it, you can't keep your eyes open.
Now, i know that i'm not alone in this happening to me. So, i guess i can console myself with that. But, nevertheless, it is bloody annoying.
One of the worst aspects is that you end up reading the same page, or pages over & over again. You have to keep going back, trying to find the place, or page that you can actually remember reading. Another aspect, is that it obviously ends up taking far longer to read a book, which may well end up putting you off bothering next time around.
So, is reading in bed a bad idea?
I tend to think not. At least you are reading in the first place. Which can only be a good thing.
It's far better, in my opinion, than watching the TV.
So many people watch the TV in bed & use it as an aid to sleeping. For relaxation yes, but as an aid for sleeping? I've even heard people say that they need to have the TV on to actually get them off to sleep. Personally, that's one thing that i just don't understand.
Maybe, somebody can tell me why that is?
I fully intend to keep on reading. After all, i enjoy it too much to stop. But, maybe i should try & do it before i get into bed?
That way i might be able to fool my eyes into thinking it's actually alright for them to remain open.
At least for a while anyway.
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