Creation of Beauty

13 Sunday Mar 2011

Posted by Katherine in Favorite Things, Other Favorite Sites, Review

Love of beauty is Taste.
The creation of beauty is Art.
[Ralph Waldo Emerson]

Easter is coming and with it comes warmth, flowers, spring breezes and Easter eggs. I’ve always loved decorated eggs so my loved ones have often given me keepsake eggs. Years ago, one gave me a breathtaking Ukrainian Easter egg. It’s fine craftsmanship and sparkling beauty grabbed my heart. I have been following a blog that I’d like to share with you folks: Eggs by Teresa. The beauty of her art grabs my heart as well.

Reading to Write

18 Wednesday Aug 2010

Posted by Katherine in Review, Thoughts, Writing

≈ 5 Comments

There was nothing but land: not a country at all,
but the material out of which countries are made.
[Willa Cather]
(Jim Burden, in My Antonia)

The first thing many writing coaches advise is read, read, read. I’ve always read a lot and now that I read eBooks on my iPod, I read even more. I’ve discovered many authors who captivate me with their story-telling skills. I’ve also discovered that there are some authors who are published but who do not strike me as being much more than mediocre writers.

Do understand that I am not an authority on writing nor am I a professional writer. I just know what appeals to me as a reader. To me, good writing is so much more than good grammar. It includes a feel for shedding the limitations of mere words and expressing the spirit of the subject. When I read, I consider the author a mentor. I itemize writing traits and decide which traits I’d like to emulate in my writing.

After I went way over my budget buying eBooks, I discovered the least expensive books are among the best written. Some are even free. That is when I rediscovered Willa Cather’s My Antonia. The simplicity of Ms Cather’s writing style seems to arise from her ability to use exactly the right words, phrases and sentences at the right time in her story. Her writing puts me in mind of The Pearl by John Steinbeck. I don’t remember the story in that novella as much as I remember his style of writing. It seemed that not a word in the story was unnecessary or without purpose. The overall effect was simplicity composed of the complex ability to say the right thing at the right time.

Reading encourages me not only to write, but to write better. Perhaps it will do the same for you.

Traveling with Grandchildren

26 Monday Jul 2010

Posted by Katherine in Other Favorite Sites, Review, Thoughts, Writing

≈ 4 Comments

Elephants and grandchildren never forget.
[Andy Rooney]

This isn’t about traveling with grandchildren the way I do—that is belting them into the back seat surrounded by toys, and stopping every hour to go potty. This is about my friend, Allen Johnson, who takes traveling with grandchildren to levels beyond my imagination (or endurance, I’m sure).

He just sent me his latest book, Biking the Blue Ridge Parkway with Five Granddaughters. It makes me imagine an elderly woman sixty years from now reminiscing about her grandpa taking her on exotic trips.

Allen and his grandchildren have traveled by canoe, skis, foot, bicycles, horseback, kayak, roller blades, and camel. They have not only toured places in the United States, but also Australia, the Arctic Circle, Holland, Sweden, Iceland, Canada, Great Britain, and the Andes. He has written a book about each of these adventures. Take a look at the list of Allen’s travel books AT THIS LINK.

eReaders, for what it’s worth

23 Friday Jul 2010

Posted by Katherine in Ongoing Projects, Review, Thoughts, Writing

≈ 4 Comments

Opinion is ultimately determined by the feelings,
and not by the intellect.
[Herbert Spencer]

I’ve spent the last several months reading dozens of books on my iPod Touch. The reason is (in addition to the fact that I love reading and my iPod makes it so convenient without adding more paperbacks to my overstuffed bookshelves), I’m producing eBooks that will be marketed in several ways. I needed not only to learn about production, but also about the product. Here are my opinions that are based upon this brief, unscientific research and experience. Remember this is merely my limited opinion that is influenced by my tastes, habits and myopic view of the world. My opinions were also shaped by the following:

I only used the software eReaders that can be installed on an iPod, and did not use the actual dedicated devices such as a Kindle, Nook, Kobo eReader, Sony…
The software I used may work differently than the actual devices. Since I didn’t have access to the devices, I don’t know.
The eReaders I mainly used were Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble, Stanza and Borders eBooks. There are many more including Adobe Digital Editions and GoodReader, but I didn’t actually read books on those.
My opinion was influenced by three factors; ease of use, ease of procuring books and readability.

My two favorites are Barnes & Noble, and Stanza. Readability won out. Both of these allowed me to customize the text so that I could read a sanserif font in a nice size. Serif type is like Times and a sanserif is like Helvetica. I found the sanserif easier to read. The main thing I liked was that the type on these two eReaders is not justified. Justified type means that the lines of type align on both the right and left, often leaving rivers of white space that make it hard to read (and plum irritating to an old typesetter like me). These two eReaders also allowed me to navigate through the books with greater ease.

My conclusion? I doubt if I’ll ever buy a dedicated eReader. My iPod Touch works great. I can only imagine using an iPad instead if I’m ever blessed with one. I’ll continue to use the B&N Reader (I ought to buy stock in the company considering how many books I’ve bought) and the Stanza eReader through which I’ve read many free classics that I wish I’d read as a child.

One more thing. As with any new technology, this technology is still a bit rough around the edges. I’m confident that the formatting of electronic books and the finesse of electronic readers will steadily improve. Also, I’m sure this technology will become more standardized, flexible and cross-platform.

Traveling Funerals and Other Joys

06 Sunday Jun 2010

Posted by Katherine in Favorite Things, Other Favorite Sites, Review, Thoughts, Writing

≈ 5 Comments

I’ve always thought that a big laugh is
a really loud noise from the soul saying,

“Ain’t that the truth.”
[Quincy Jones]

I have at least one addiction; electronic publications. As with most addictions, it started out small and practical. I was teaching myself how to produce eBooks. Then I found audio books. Then I discovered I could listen to them and knit at the same time just like listening to the radio back when it had programming I loved to listen to (about 55 years ago). At first, I only ordered non-fiction, history books thinking I could expand my mind and turn out sock patterns galore. That is what is called, rationalization. I now know more about seven major wars than most history majors.

Then a friend recommended I read Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral by Kris Radish. That is where the laughing comes in. The laughing, the crying, the memories—all those things that make me glad to be a woman. This led me to Kris Radish’s blog and more laughing.

Years ago, a friend of mine hurried in late to work, collapsed into her desk chair and said, “Only Erma Bombeck would understand why there are bare foot prints on my bathroom ceiling.” I love people who can level out rough spots in life with humor.

That reminds, me. I’ll start posting the designs I’ve conjured up while listening to books.

eBooks, a new horizon

08 Saturday May 2010

Posted by Katherine in Learning to Blog, Review, teaching classes, Thoughts, Writing

≈ 1 Comment

You can teach a student a lesson for a day;
but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity,
he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.
[Clay P. Bedford]

Calibre I’ve been studying about eBooks—production, distribution, promotion, etc. In this image of my computer dock is a row of software I’ve been using: left to right is Adobe Dreamweaver, TextEdit, Calibre, Adobe Acrobat Pro, Adobe Digital Additions, Barnes & Noble Reader, and Amazon Kindle Reader. The first two help me in formatting and the last four are eBook readers but Calibre is the boss.

Calibre is a free and open source e-book library management application developed by users of e-books for users of e-books.

I’ve been successful in using it to save a piece of writing in three of the main formats used by eBook readers. Now I just need to polish my skills to get consistent and predictable results. When I get further along, I’ll share my discoveries on my blog.

A word about eBooks—I too love a paper and ink book to hold and read. On the other hand, I find that some books that I enjoy reading are handier to read in my iPod touch, and don’t clutter my bookshelves after I’ve finished with them.

A word about free software—if you like and use the software, do donate to its development so the programmers can afford to keep improving it.

Walking at Home, Parts 1 and 2

29 Friday Jan 2010

Posted by Katherine in Other Favorite Sites, Review, Thoughts

≈ 5 Comments

If I’d known I was going to live so long,
I’d have taken better care of myself.
[Leon Eldred]

A couple of years ago, I made several changes in my life. I quit smoking. I joined Curves to avoid weight gain from the first change. And, I signed up for bi-weekly emails from Real Age.com. Taking ten minutes twice a week reading brief articles on RealAge, has probably encouraged me to make other changes I haven’t even noticed.

Since death is unavoidable, I haven’t made changes to avoid death. I’ve made changes to be a giftgiver. I’m giving myself the gift of being as well as possible for whatever time I have on earth so I can function at my peak. I’m giving my loved ones two gifts—my company, if and when they want my company, and my agility in case one of them takes care of me someday.

That last thing might sound odd but think about it. Have you taken care of someone physically? As a nurse, I have. It is a lot easier to take care of someone who is agile, toned, and not over weight. I figure that keeping fit is a gift you give to a future caregiver.

Walking is part of keeping fit. That’s hard to do daily in some regions (like this morning when it is near to zero degrees and snowing). Here are two videos from RealAge to help with the 30 minutes a day walking.

Adobe and Apples

30 Wednesday Dec 2009

Posted by Katherine in Favorite Things, Ongoing Projects, Review, Thoughts

≈ 2 Comments

Lieutenant Dan got me invested in some kind of fruit company.
So then I got a call from him,
saying we don’t have to worry about money no more.
And I said, that’s good!
One less thing.
[Forrest Gump referring to Apple Computer]

If I’d purchased stock every time I purchased software or computer upgrades in the last two decades, I could be as wealthy as Forrest. In fact, every time I upgrade I think, I ought to buy stock instead. If you are one of those who did, then I’m one of those who has been keeping Apple and Adobe in business all these years.

I just upgraded to Creative Design Suite CS4 and it blows me away. I’ve been using Illustrator for twenty years and have always wished for features like having more than one page in a document. Ta-da! It has arrived. Along with the upgrade, Adobe is treating me to a month of courses on Lynda.com. That blows me away too. Their courses are fun, well organized and polished. I’ve learned more in the past week than I have in … well, in twenty years. After all of this time, I thought I knew the software like I know my vacuum cleaner, but there is so much more to learn. What a delight.

Now that I think about it, maybe it is good I didn’t invest in Apple and Adobe. If I had amassed a fortune, I might just sit around like a slug instead of being motivated to embark on all of these learning adventures. I DO LOVE MY WORK.

South of Broad

21 Friday Aug 2009

Posted by Katherine in Review, Writing

≈ 2 Comments

The gardens of Charleston were mysteries
walled away in ivied jewel boxes
emitting their special fragrances over high walls.
[Pat Conroy]

Broad Stroll down the sidewalk on the front cover of South of Broad [Pat Conroy, 2009]. Continue around the spine and across the back cover. Then, in your mind, cross King Street and stand in front of Number 38 South Battery. I lived there for a couple of years during the late 60s. I may not have judged this book by its cover but I did buy it because of its cover. I was enchanted by Charleston.

The story in this book is told through a narrator about an odd collection of people who create a bond of friendship that lasts through the years. There is action, intrigue, danger, love, hate, twists and turns. It held my attention.

The descriptive parts of this book took me back to a place I loved. The social divisions depicted in this book had less of a draw on my memories since I was an outsider with no desire to become an insider. One time, my landlady invited me to tea with her friends—all of them were Charlestonians to the last corpuscle. When she introduced me, she laughed and added that the cannon in the park pointed to her porch because she was harboring a Yankee. Then she apologized for the fact that I worked for a living as a Navy nurse—in her world, a genteel lady didn’t work for a living especially in a profession as low as nursing, nor did she associate herself with the military. I smiled and decided it would be best if I didn’t tell them I had an uncle who was with Sherman when he marched through South Carolina. The group gave no hint that I was socially unacceptable. Like Charleston, they were gracious to the last tip of the tea cup.

That brings me to the part I liked the least about the book. I’ve been a lot of places and met a lot of people over many years, but I have never met people who acted or talked with each other like the characters in this book. They are such a mean-spoken, foul-mouth bunch that their loving, lasting bonds seem unrealistic. I only believed they cared about each other because the narrator said they did.

If you like southern stories chocked full of angst, do read this book. Better yet, take the book along if you visit Charleston. There is a lyrical description near the end that you could use as a travel guide. Walk the route Leo took when he delivered papers.

Number 38 South Battery

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

31 Sunday Aug 2008

Posted by Katherine in Favorite Things, Review

≈ 1 Comment

Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend.
Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.
[Groucho Marx]

The Guernsey Literary and
Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer and
Annie Barrows
The Dial Press, 2008

Guernsey, an island in the English Channel, was occupied by the Germans during most of World War Two. For five years the islanders lived in fear, danger and deprivation while they were out of contact with the rest of the world. By the time they were liberated, they were abused and starving but they had forged enriching friendships out of their hardship and need to protect each other.

This novel is a good example of fiction presenting facts in a more effective way than non-fiction can. The reader is absorbed into the experiences of the characters, and remembers the historical experience with more than a precise memory of facts.

The story is told in a series of letters between a young writer, Juliet Ashton, in 1946 London and her close friends in addition to the members of the literary society on the island of Guernsey. The letters are witty, charming, engrossing and satisfying. The story is so well written that it may become one of those durable books that is read year after year and rediscovered each generation–a book that could become a classic.