This is a wonderful book for children.
Published for $5.00 on Lulu.com

There have been times where there were close to a thousand entries in our Google Reader.  Today, not so much.

There was a link on Hulu for a preview for the TV show Niew Amsterdam; another immortal show coming up on March 10th on a network near you.  Like most cop/fantasy shows, the male is brooding and the woman partner a knock out who talks tough.

Not sure if we'll give this one a chance.

Next was the  AskTheGeek.com link to Adobe AIR. 

On this page AIR struts its stuff and allows you to download it for free.  How long the freeness of this lasts is yet to be seen.  Adobe is not know for its charitable nature. 

We will run it and get back to you later on its end-usability.

The most charming of the bits in the feed this afternoon was this page on Neil Gaiman's blog.  The first part is about the hives in his woods and the garage-bucket-cheesecloth method of harvesting honey.

The second part is about the evolution of his newest book.  I have found it fascinating to read the ruminations of a published best selling author as he creates and gestates what I hope will soon be his next best selling tome.

That's the afternoon report from the Google reader.

Go this link: http://browseinside.harpercollins.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780060558123&WT.mc_id=author_AmerGods_FullAccess_022208

Here for the next month you can read American Gods by Neil Gaiman courtesy of the author himself.  He ran a survey on his blog as to which books his fans would like to see posted free on-line.

I voted for Neverwhere, but his more popular novel won.  I liked it too, so everyone's a winner.

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On his blog this morning Neil Gaiman put up a poll that asks which of a list of his books would we give to a friend so as to introduce the friend to Gaiman books.  If you look at the poll, as of now, American Gods is way ahead. 

I voted for Neverwhere. 

This is partly because Neverwhere was the first of his books that I read, leading me out into the world to find the rest of his work to consumes ravenously.  

Also, I believe American Gods, though his best novel, may be a little on the strong side as an introduction to Neil Gaiman's work.

Conversely, had my first exposure to him been one of his outstanding illustrated novels, I might never had gone on to read his novels and short stories.  Quien Sabe, amigo!
Now it is time for my morning muffin, sorry, meditation....
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First, the name of the two books that weren't available for Kindle download.
Shakespeare The Thinker by A.D. Nuttall.
Criminal Reason by Michael Gregorio.

Both were available in print from Amazon.  I will buy them when I am next in Brunswick ME.  Bookstores have been my haven for more than half a century.  Though I am enthusiastic for my Kindle, this will not stop me from buying books.

That's probably  similar to something said by a person when they first bought manufactured cloth, "Though this cloth is sturdy and well made, I will still buy from the local weaver widow down the lane."  Or, when first buying suits off the rack, "This won't stop me from visiting my custom tailor." Tempus Fugit.

Instead of the  David McCullough book, I started with Believe, the beta digital book.  It starts in the ER at Bellevue Hospital in NYC.  I have been a customer there, so it seemed only right for this to be the first book I complete on the Kindle.

So far, so good.
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It is one of those blogs occasionally mentioned in a NYT article, you visit it, browse around and then click the X and it is off your radar.  However, there was one and now there are two blogs put out by authors that I have added to the TO READ folder in my overloaded Google Reader.
The first belongs to Neil Gaiman.  

His blog has had many changes from feeling like an illustrated novel to becoming a more personable blog, with side features to add to it wealth of information.  Mr. Gaiman is one of the contemporary authors who cannot have a book published for very long before it is in my hands and read too quickly.

Now another author whose work finds itself into my hands as quickly is Stephen Fry.  His blog leans more to the fun he is having using computers and the Internet, but still, there are links to the fruit is labor handily weaved into the page design. 

Though the content of Mr. Fry's blog leans toward the Geek, I have placed it in the TO READ file, instead of the KNOWN GEEKS, where Amber MacArthur, Leo Laporte and the like are linked. 

With so much information constantly coming into our lives from so many sources, the need to characterize, compartmentalize and generally cope is becoming more and more a necessity. 

As an example, there is one book of Mr. Gaiman's I have yet to read is Revenge: A Novel

I am waiting for the arrival of my gifted Kindle and intend it to be my first online order/download.

Hogmanay !!
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In a few of our blog entries we have complained about being overwhelmed by Google Reader.  This is no longer so.

We have made few modifications in the manner in which it is read, while simultaneously adding a dozen or so RSS links to blogs and other sites.

Whereas before we were reading each blog separately they are now grouped by general interest.  We have BLOGS, NEWS, SOFTWARE, HARDWARE and TO READ.  Each of the selected links are placed into the right group. 

Next we changed the default view from Expanded View to List View.   For a while we tried reading it by group.  Then we advanced to reading list with All Items (#) chosen.

The last, and most necessary of the settings is Show # New Items.

After perusing the  list, do not forget to Mark All As Read.  If you forget to do that, then the rest of the effort was in vain. 

We have recently added to Firefox the Read It Later extension.  Using this tool removed the last bit of pressure.  

Now we select an item from the list, right click to link and choose, Read It Later from the list.  Then the link is added to a list activated by the new icon in the top toolbar. 

Next,  it's onto the new Kindle from Amazon.

Information Overload.  Who would have thought it possible?
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 Kindle: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device