The Nook ……or not

I tend to read three or four books a month hence my switching to an eReader, the Nook. It makes sense to have 1000’s of choices stored in something that is not much larger than my checkbook.  My checkbook has extra “stuff” inside and may not mirror yours but the point is that it is similar in size/weight.

Yes, I have a real passion for reading except for the “body stripping, trash talking” style of writing which do not warrant my time. Sometimes I treat myself to “brain candy” which is a term learned from my friend Jennifer W.

Knowing my reading appetite borders on obsession my husband decided back in 2010 that he wanted me to have an eReader. He requested (odd for a husband) that I review the options and make my decision for this gift for him. I left my chair and moved so quickly to my computer that I feel sure that I did not even cast a shadow during the vault from my recliner. I explored the Internet and narrowed my choices down to three: Sony, Kindle and Nook. For me the obvious and best choice was and still is Nook.

It had four options that for me could not be denied and the fifth is a given: 1) can be linked to your local library for millions of other FREE reading material, 2) a FREE book offer every Friday, 3) book exchanges between fellow Nook readers also FREE, 4) there was an alternate site available from which to acquire other books (have not felt the need to try it), and 5) it supported my favorite bookstore, Barnes and Noble.

Yes, many of my friends chose the Kindle which is their right and I respect their choice. However I would have lost two whole years of FREE and additional reading pleasures.

Color can be appreciated on many levels but I did not choose the NOOK Color. My husband encouraged me to choose the more expensive model (also odd for a husband). The differences between the one that I chose and the 2010 Nook Color were not significant and not enough to change my mind or justify the increase in cost.

Kindle from Amazon may offer the same options “now” but I have not been interested enough to check. The best combination for me is Nook from Barnes & Noble. 

Don’t settle for less, I didn’t.

Encyclopedia Britannica going out of print

When I first saw the message posted on my LinkedIn this came as a shock.  Then my brain engaged to give it additional thought as my breathing returned to normal.

Like many before me, my first introduction to the Britannica was in the school library. Aside from my Bible, I thought them the most majestic, highly esteemed of all reading material “freely” available to all. My fellow “Houston Northsiders” will understand this clearly since our families would fall into the category of those who could not afford to buy/have/savor/enjoy them at home. I even remember the leather covers which I felt were as rich as the contents.

The library was my favorite summer spot and yes, it was to the Britannica’s that earned my first stop.  They opened up a whole new world for me and they fed a young girls mind and created a thirst for more that has never been quenched.

My parents were eventually able to buy us a set of Compton’s Encyclopedias which I enjoyed just as much.  I have three siblings and they got a workout until the last one graduated.

The Encyclopedia Britannica is an ICON and certainly set the standard for other reading mediums. After the shock of the article title, I realized that even the Britannica had reached a point that required 21^st century attention. Paper may become “out of vogue” but knowledge and information is power and only the venue is changing.

Besides, did you check out the cost of the last printed edition: $1,395.00? 

Message to brain: slow down my breathing AGAIN

Crazy Daisy and the Girls Scouts

Today marks the 100^th anniversary of the Girls Scouts, originally called American Girl Guides and its British equivalent, Girl Guides.  This blog is not to restate the obvious or to copy/paste what may be printed on an international level in today’s news. However, when reading the Houston Chronicle article by Maggie Galehouse a few points jumped off the page. Let’s start with the originators name: Juliette Daisy Gordon Low.

Juliette – in French it means soft haired, in Latin Down-bearded youth (still soft).  One of the pictures in the paper is of a soft featured appearance of a lady, complete with a hat. (I love hats and have close to ten of them). Looks can be deceiving when a woman is on a mission of any kind.

Daisy – English meaning Days Eye or Eye of the Day, the flower. The first picture in the article is of that first group of young ladies and judging by the shadows was near noon.  All are uniformed, saluting the day AND the next steps in their paths.

Low – her married name and a marriage which brought little comfort.  Her husband was an adulterer and her hearing was forever impaired by a grain of rice which lodged itself in her ear on her wedding day resulting in chronic ear infections.  Her husband was a pain and the wedding rice caused pain.

Juliette Daisy Gordon Low was 51 years old when she founded the first troop of “Girl Scouts of the USA” in Savannah, Georgia.  

This American pioneer southern girl did well for all of us while no longer young by the standards of that time, in a more than troubled marriage, was hearing impaired which is a disability by today’s standards, was called “Crazy Daisy” because she liked to experience fun as a youth, and the purpose behind her forming of the Girl Scouts was to empower girls from all walks of life whether “factory girls, working-class girls, wealthy girls, immigrant girls, everybody”(as quoted from Houston Chronicle 3/12/2102). 

Some of my favorite facts in the article are these:  53% of women business owners are former Girl Scouts, ten of the 17 women serving in the US Senate are Girl Scouts and 2.3 million girls in the Girls Scouts of the USA today.

Keep in mind this was a full eight years before we were granted the right to vote on August 26, 1920 through the passing of the 19^th Amendment.  I would surely like to know how the experience of being the first group of Girl Scouts affected the decisions/goals set for their adult life and how they may have participated, if at all, in the women’s suffrage movement. 

I lived the life of a Girl Scout even though not one officially.  Oh well, another story for another time ….