I'M STILL HERE!

It's been awhile since my last post. I've had a dose of the 'flu and ended up with a sinus infection that just doesn't seem to want to go away. So while I've been reading blogs, I haven't had the energy to write one.

I have, however, been reading plenty of good books. As you will see on the left I have a separate thingy for what I'm reading on my Kobo eReader. Since I bought my eReader I'm finding I'm always reading two books at once. One on the Kobo and a good old fashioned paper one as well!

I have several books I aim to write reviews for, especially ones I can include in the Historical Fiction Challenge. Hopefully I'll post them in the next week.

I managed to get one story finished and polished for a local competition. It had the theme of crime/mystery and I wrote about a stagecoach journey with an interesting twist. The story I've mentioned before about the Maungatua sticking-up fell foul of my recent 'flu. It is almost finished and will get an airing sometime soon.

Tonight hubby and I get the treat of all three children being away from late afternoon until tomorrow morning!! They are involved in a Pentecost celebration at church. We're thinking of having some exotic tasty take aways for tea and watching a DVD.  I'm looking forward to it.

Here's a photo I found on the net, just because I like to look at pretty things. Enjoy!

ME AND MY KOBO

Two and a half weeks since my last post! Where did the days go?

The school holidays flew by, filled with trips down south to Gore, a jaunt to Middlemarch and shopping trips to town. Then there was Easter in the middle weekend, which sliced up the holidays with church services, the walking of the cross and numerous tasty breakfasts of Hot Cross Buns.

It had been my intention to spend a good part of the time writing, but it just wasn't to be. I did however begin a short story for an upcoming local competition. The theme is crime or mystery and I unearthed an interesting historic event that occured not far from here. It was labelled at the time as the "first sticking-up" in Otago. What a quaint expression. My muse was taken with this event and a story based on it is developing nicely. More on this in a later post.

After some careful consideration, I am moving the location of my novel - hence the jaunt to Middlemarch.(A little township in the midst of a remote plain, an hour's drive inland from Dunedin.) And more on this in a later post too.

But what I really want to post about today is:  My new Kobo e reader!

Now let it be said that I adore books. The real kind, made with paper and ink. I love the smell of new books and the musty aroma of dusty old books. I admire the colours on the front cover and the fancy embossed writing that you can run your fingers over whilst marveling at the fancy fonts. I like the way they look placed in a bookcase in their sets, or stacked horizontally until they bulge from the shelf. There is nothing nicer than turning the crisp white page of a new book, or wondering about the stains and smudges of an old treasure. And nothing beats the thrill of finding just the right book in a dark corner of an op shop, or unearthing a long forgotten book at the bottom of a storage carton. I love books!

So, how could I have succumbed to an e reader, you ask?

The answer: logistics and cost.

Logistics: There are only so many books that a house can hold.
Cost: There are only so many "real" books that I can afford.

Now that I actually own one, there are more considerations to add: no need for a bookmark, it slips easily into my handbag, and reading in bed is so much easier. You know those chilly evenings when you snuggle down and only your nose and the hand holding the book pokes out? And there is always one side of the page that is harder to get at? And you have to squint because wearing glasses lying down in bed is impossible. Well, with an e reader the problem is solved: there is only one side to it and you can enlarge the font.

Will I still buy books? You bet! But I'm glad I finally succumbed to technology.