Why I love my Kindle

I'm all about books. I love to read and always have. I tend to devour them quickly, reread my favorites, and have stacks and stacks waiting to be read up in my room. A couple of years ago, my parents got me a Kindle. Ironically, it was a graduation present when I got my master's degree in library and information studies. If that's not an oxymoron, I don't know what is - give the librarian an e-reader?!? But they knew I would love it, and if my mom, a librarian, could do it, so could I!

People who don't have an e-reader (poor sad souls) often say they could not use one and would miss the feel of a book in hand. I get it; I do go back and forth and still read traditional books as well. But here are the reasons I love my Kindle (in no particular order):

Note for those Nook readers out there (you know who you are) - this list is general and could apply to the Nook as well; I'm not claiming the superiority of the Kindle, even though I might think it! ;)

1. Free books - I currently have 100+ completely free books that I downloaded from Amazon's website. There are TONS of free books and the list changes nearly daily. Are they all quality, wonderful literature? Not even a chance - I've gotten some real duds. But I've also discovered some gems. And classics and Christian fiction tends to be free a lot, two of my favorite genres. So the idea that you have to BUY all your books for the Kindle is not true. I do buy books, but I have way more freebies than ones I purchased.
2. Instant gratification - Admit it, we all like instant gratification. Sometimes when I read about a new book or hear about it from a friend, I immediately set out to find said book to read it myself. The library often has a waiting list (or doesn't have it at all) and to buy it in a store requires GOING to the store and getting it, paying $10+ (usually +). But if I truly HAVE to have a book (and I can convince myself out of it most of the time), all I have to do is go to the Kindle store on my Kindle or on Amazon, make one click, and the book is mine. Ahhhhhhh!!! (and don't tell Nick)
   
3. Easy to hold - I read in bed a lot, and holding large books (the best books have more than 500 pages) tends to get heavy after awhile. Sounds very lazy, but really!! It does get heavy in certain positions. With the Kindle, it is nice and light and my thumbs naturally fall right over the button that clicks to turn the pages.
4. Pretty - I have the second generation Kindle, and while not as small and sleek as the newer one, it is still very pretty and has a nice green leather cover. And a cute light to read by if it is dark.
5. Always connected - I have a Kindle app on my iPad and my iTouch in addition to having the Kindle. And Nick has the Kindle app on his tablet so we can read anywhere. Maybe that's going overboard on the connectivity, but you gotta have a book wherever you go!
6. Not gross - I get grossed out by used books and library books. I do read them, and try not to think about it while I read them, but my mind goes to where the book has been before me. I much prefer a brand new book that's never been read by anyone, but even those have been picked up by tons of people in bookstores. Ok, that's a silly reason to love a Kindle.

There are more reasons I love my Kindle, but these are just a few of the inane ones. Stay tuned for more blog posts about things I have that I'm bragging about (aka desperately searching for blog topics!!).

Movie review

We saw Super 8 in the theater this weekend. I wasn't necessarily needing to see it in the theater, but had seen previews and thought it was intriguing.

The story is set in the late 1970s and is about a group of boys (and one girl) who are making a movie about zombies in their small town. The main character has recently lost his mother and is dealing with all the emotions and transition that goes along with that. While filming a scene late one night, they discover something that they weren't meant to see and end up running for their lives from multiple dangers. I can't reveal much more than that, because the point of the movie is the unknown!!

I thought it was very good. Action and suspense, with enough human interest to make the storyline have some depth. The kids acting in it were very cute and did a good job. It was E.T. meets Stand By Me, only good (I don't like E.T. or Stand By Me). I would recommend this movie to anyone except small children - it's a bit scary in parts.

Trip to Auburn

We went to Auburn, AL this weekend to visit Nick's brother Ben who is in college there. It was a fun trip - we went to a yummy restaurant and had "corn nuggets" which sound gross but are really good. We toured the campus and saw a movie (movie review post to come). We walked around some gardens (thankfully in the shade) and had a good time!

Pretty flower:

Nick and Molly at mosquito infested pond:

Happy siblings:


That's more like it:


Ben & David:Nick and his uncle Joel:

Us:

Barbara and her sister Wanda:

Today's the kind of day

That cries out for curling up on the couch with a cup of coffee and a book. It's rainy and dreary outside.

So I think that's what I'll do.

Well, and that and laundry.
And meal planning.
And grocery store lists.
And cleaning the kitchen.

Who am I kidding? I can't sit still to save my life.

First Day of Summer

You know what that means, don't you? After today, the days start getting shorter again!!! YAY!!!! We're that much closer to winter!

Book Review

I read the book "Columbine" by Dave Cullen recently. It was a different type of book than I normally read (fiction, light), but this one was recommended to me by a parent of one of my former students. I usually read books that are recommended to me, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. It was a nonfiction account of the events at Columbine High School in 1999, when the two boys shot up their high school. Definitely a harrowing tale. But contrary to what many were told after the tragedy occurred, these boys were not reacting to bullies and jocks who made fun of them. They were fairly popular themselves, and plotted it just to see if they could do it. This is the premise of Cullen's book, and he details their plans through the use of their journals and eyewitness accounts. I found it very interesting, but I'm weird in that true crime is interesting to me - as long as I'm not too close to it! I wouldn't necessarily "recommend" it to anyone - it was tough to read and fairly graphic, but I did find it to be a good read.

Father's Day family lunch

Saturday was my dad's birthday. I forgot to post on Saturday (I was busy cooking and cleaning and getting ready for Sunday), but since he doesn't read my blog anyway, it probably went unnoticed. However, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!!!!


To celebrate his birthday and Father's Day (poor guy always gets everything lumped into together, plus he got married on his birthday so my parents' anniversary was Saturday as well), and because they had friends in town, we had everyone come over for lunch after church. It was quite the crowd of 11 people.

I made BBQ in the Crock Pot, pasta salad, baked beans, a strawberry pretzel dessert, and my mom brought cole slaw. I meant to take pictures of everything, but it didn't happen in all the craziness. I did make a picture of the pasta salad, one of my favorite summer dishes...
Mmmmmm...it was delicious, but there were no leftovers. Actually there were no leftovers of any kind! We at a TON of food! It was a great afternoon seeing our old friends (my second set of parents growing up, pretty much):

Lunch!!

Alternate title: The best part about summer.

BEACH!!

We just got back from the beach, where we had a wonderful week with family. Here are a few pictures from the trip:


View from our deck, ahhhhh!!!:


Sunset walk:



My cousin Emily playing her mandolin:
Mom and my cousin Elizabeth reading on the porch (there was a lot of this!):


Matching!:

Nick's favorite spot on the porch:


Ick, there were several jellyfish and sting rays to contend with this year:


Strolling on the beach:

My cousin Sadie turned 1!!:


Chris and Amanda = hours of entertainment for all:


Bocce ball:
My friend Hannah came to visit; she was at a nearby beach with her husband. She spent two summers at the beach with my family growing up, so this visit brought back lots of great memories!!:

Obligatory June 1 picture

It did NOT turn out like I wanted, but where I can usually get Nick to sit still for 10-15 poses before I get one I like, this time I got 2 before he pushed me out the door to go to dinner. Oh well.

And my flowers:

Happy 9th anniversary to us!!

This picture is a few months old and not the best shot of us. We always take the obligatory anniversary picture on June 1st, but it will have to wait for our date tonight since I was sleeping when Nick left this morning!! But 9 years ago today we became husband and wife!! So thankful for my wonderful husband!! :)

(This reminds me that a project I want to work on is getting our wedding photographs digitized!)