Try to listen to this end to end

A Design for Reading

The great thing about Kindles and other tablet devices is that you don't need to lug around more than one book...  you carry your whole library with you.  This might not sound like a big deal if you just read one book at at time, but if you're anything like me you've got a few books on the go at the same time.

I have some little rules around this.  For example, I can't read two novels at the same time, but the minute I finish one I'm immediately on the lookout for what to read next, so I always have some fiction in progress.  I'm reading The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan at the moment.

Whichever novel I'm reading, it is usually accompanied by a biography or autobiography...  currently in the midst of David Mitchell's Back Story... it's pleasant and clever but disappointingly slight.

In addition, I'll often have a business or self-help kind of book on the go.  This week I tore through Clarity by Jamie Smart and I highly recommend it if you ever feel somewhat overloaded, or stressed, or simply can't think straight.  He brings home some simple, universal truths which literally make you think... in the right way.

I'll also have either a travel or a history book in progress either to widen my horizons or to offer some perspective on current events.  Andrew Martin's Underground Overground is currently ticking both boxes for me.

Then I'll often be reading a graphic novel or series of comics.  The non-fictional aspect seems to clash with my difficulty in focusing on two novels at once, but somehow, I seem to be able to manage comics alongside novels.  I'm currently enjoying Saga by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples via the ComiXology app and really recommend it.

Lastly, I'm often in Flipboard, Pocket and any number of social apps catching up on news, etc.

This approach might sound overcomplicated but it seems to work for me.

What works for you?

Thurstonland Tea Towel Photographs

Thurstonland Tea Towel Photographs, a set on Flickr.

Some photographs taken around the village today. Don't know if they'll make the cut for the proposed village tea towel.

Panasonic Lumix GF3; 14-42 lens

I like my tools simple and good looking...

Today I learned that Omnifocus is going free... at least until the new version is released.  I also learned on taking a look at it, that it looks like a real time-sink.  I know that I'd spend more time curating my todo lists than actually doing the tasks.

The best task management tool I've found in recent years is Clear.  I like my tools simple and good-looking...

Is Kindle really a browsing service for real books?

I heard a discussion on Radio 4 this week about the relative merits of ebooks vs physical books.  The upshot of the debate seemed to be that, despite publishers' initial wariness, people were beginning to impulse-buy more books than ever before, due to the always available ebook-stores.  Certainly, people seem to be buying much more than they read and, as there are no bulging shelves to show for it, it's very easy to do.  

However, the radio conversation went on to suggest that people are purchasing ebooks to decide whether they like a book and, if after they have read it they have enjoyed it, they then trek out to the local bookshop and buy a physical copy... in effect, buying the same book twice.  I'm sorry but I just don't believe that.