Digital vs Physical Books

 

Anyone else feel torn when it comes to digital books vs physical books?

Awhile back I read a post by Grace on her blog about how she got a Kindle but eventually stopped using it and went back to buying physical books from her local book retailer. It got me thinking back then but I was too busy to post my own thoughts about the issue.

I've often thought about trying to win Kindle/Nook giveaways and I have the Kindle and Aldiko apps on my phone, however I don't really utilize them much.

Around Christmastime I downloaded a handful of free books for my Kindle app that I haven't even looked at since. And on Aldiko, the only reason I haven't removed it is because I'm currently reading a book on there (FTW - a book about a video game gold farmer and what lengths he goes to to make his money) for free that Amazon charges full-price for. But again, I started reading that one awhile ago and I've only read a few chapters of it as I keep forgetting about it.

I can see the versatility of having a digital platform for your books - a smaller tablet or a smartphone are both way more portable and in my case, I can hold my phone and read/do stuff one handed while I'm feeding Jay, but for some reason I just prefer having a physical book.

I like being able to put a book back on the shelf when I'm done with it. Sticking an actual bookmark in it when I'm stopping for a bit, etc. Maybe it's the pack-rat side of me, as I like to collect a series and then display it on the bookshelf in our home.

From the time I was little I enjoyed reading - my parents read to me when I was little, my dad would take me to the library a few Saturdays each month when I was little and I would pick out a few. While other kids were spending their allowance on this or that, I would buy books with mine. I remember in 4th grade a bunch of girls brought all our Baby-Sitters Club books to school with us and displayed them by our assigned seats. We would swap and borrow them - it was fun! And just like movies and CDs, when I enter someone's home, books is another thing I skim their shelves for if I see them - I like to walk in and see what others are reading, watching, listening too while I'm waiting for them to finish up whatever. It fascinates me.

It was a sad day when Waldenbooks closed at our mall. The big one at the big mall in the Chicago suburbs also closed awhile back too. I used to enjoy hanging out at Media Play too - the media giant. I'd browse the movies, the books, the music selections and items and spend hours there.

Borders has always been a favorite of mine - whenever we were visiting that big mall in the suburbs, the giant Borders store was always a stop on the way home for us as at the time we didn't have one in our city (They eventually built one though). For some reason I always found their prices to be better than Barnes and Noble and until B&N moved into a bigger store out at the mall, Borders always had the larger selection it seemed. Even in college, the town I was in had both but the B&N was just soooo small and I could never find what I was looking for, plus the Borders down there gave student discounts on some items. Also, I love the Borders Rewards program - unlike B&N, they have a free version of it where I still get coupons throughout the week (I just got one last week that gave me 50% off the list price of an item - we got the Game of Thrones 4-book set for $18!) and last winter they gave me a total of $25 in Borders Bucks, which is basically free money - I got several books and items for free, just for being a loyal customer! The only thing I think B&N has over Borders is their kids section, at least in my city - B&N seem to have a much more organized kids section than Borders, making it easier for me to find books for Jay, plus they have a free kids book club program too which I get savings on. We're lucky - our Borders is one of the select ones staying open; the one down by my college already closed up!

Granted, I do buy bestseller paperbacks from Walmart as they're several dollars cheaper, but for all other book needs/purchases I try to go to Borders. Yes, I've ordered some stuff off Amazon in the past too, but only because I was already placing an order and/or had a giftcard.

Regardless, some days I find myself wishing I had the book I'm working on in digital format, but then I always come back to thinking "no, I don't need it."

What they need to do is find a way to make it so that if you purchase the physical copy of a book you can also download a free copy of it to your digital device, sort of how most DVDs these day include a digital copy disc so you can put the movie on your computer or smartphone or tablet. I would LOVE it if they somehow figured out how to do that, that way I could have my physical book at home on my nightstand or coffee table but if I was out somewhere and bored, having time to read or say I'm at home feeding Jay, I could read the book on my digital device.

What are your thoughts? 

Do you love the digital age of books or do you prefer having a physical book in your hands?

Night Terrors and Teeth

As I mentioned previously, we believe Jay is teething and has been for almost a month or so now - it's been quite the adventure!

I wanted to hold off on the Baby Orajel until we had some idea where the tooth was coming in at rather than rubbing it all over his entire gums and making his whole mouth numb. We've been lucky that up until this point he's only been drooling like a faucet rather than the vomit or diarrhea or fever I've read some babies get when teething. Well, that dang tooth better be coming in soon as today he's constant diarrhea! It hasn't been much each time but I've changed his diaper more today than ever before - usually he only has 1 decent-sized poopy diaper a day, today there's been some liquidy diarrhea in almost each one! I've been changing it right away too as it smells rancid and sounds like a mini-explosion in his diaper when in fact it's actually not that much. I hope this doesn't continue the rest of the time he's teething - we'll be going through diapers like crazy!

Poor guy though, he's not too fond of teething rings yet, only sucking on them for a minute or 2 before it hurts. And I've tried Baby Orajel the past 2 nights... last night it seemed to help, but tonight, the second I got my finger in his mouth to rub it on the area where we think the tooth is coming in (the front top right) he started sucking on my finger thinking I was giving him some food to taste. Needless to say, he didn't like what he tasted on my finger! We're dealing but I wish this tooth would come in already, I hate seeing him in pain like this - the only comfort that seems to work is snuggles and letting him suck on his fist or burpie cloth or bib.

Because of the teething though he's gained a great interest in people's mouths and teeth! His latest thing is staring at your mouth and teeth and then sticking his hand in there to check out the teeth as he seems to realize he doesn't have them but everyone else does. Tonight he gripped onto my teeth and tried pulling them out, lol...

He's flipped over a few more times - hubby got him to do it a few times tonight, so daddy's finally seen him do it, and I got him to do it for me again last week. Seems like he's getting the hang of it and right on track for his milestones.

He ate most of his bowl of rice cereal today with little fuss than usual, which is a relief! I'm hoping the doctor says we can start him on actual solid foods at his 4 month check-up on the 8th. I think he'd take to that better as the rice cereal is probably pretty bland with not much taste. He seems fine eating from a spoon though. I figure we'll start him on sweet potatoes, then the mashed peas, carrots, etc before introducing the fruit as my mom said once you do fruit they'll prefer the sweetness of it over the veggies.

Another thing I thought I'd mention that I need to remember to ask the doctor about is night terrors.

Jay's had least 4 episodes that I can recall now since he was born and he's just under 4 months old. He'll be sleeping and all of a sudden he'll just start shrieking, like he's trapped in a nightmare. I try to hold him and rock him and comfort him and call his name, telling him to open his eyes and that mommy's here, but it takes a good few minutes before he snaps out of it and then he's fine. One occurrence was when my mom was watching him at the house while we were getting all moved in - freaked her out a bit.

Curious, I did some research and came across the Night Terrors Resource Center page, run by a guy who also suffers from them and decided to do his own research on the condition (for over 20 years) to help others.

There's some interesting stuff.

He does say though that it can occur in babies even at birth, contrary to some belief. They say most times the sufferer doesn't even know they had an episode until someone tells them and it usually occurs about 45 minutes into the sleep cycle. They'll "wake up" startled, screaming or crying, no idea where they are or what's going on. It can last roughly 5 minutes on average but sometimes longer and no matter what you do to console them it doesn't make a difference until they snap out of it on their own. In children they say the best thing to do is just comfort them as much as you can; if they wake up the next morning and have no recollection of the episode, don't tell them about it as it'll likely just scare them.

He also says it's possible it is genetic, which if that's true, in Jay's case it makes me wonder as there has been a handful of times where hubby "wakes up" in the middle of the night, sweating, breathing hard, frantic and scared, unsure of what's happening. He usually goes back to sleep in a matter of minutes but it has creeped me out a few times. I recall his dad telling me he'd occasionally have episodes like that when he was really little, claiming to see a demon or something in his room. Another thing with the night terrors is that sometimes people do think they see a person in the room with them that isn't actually there. If hubby has the occasional night terror, it's possible that's what that could have been when he was young.

It's definitely interesting and worth checking into more! I hate it when it happens though, as Jay's usually asleep in my arms, it's usually been about 45 minutes and he just shrieks for a good few minutes until he actually wakes up and is perfectly fine like nothing just happened.

Ten on Tuesday: Misc 1

Once again, I'm posting another meme that Angie posted on her blog. Seems that's all I get to post on here most of the time! Doh! I'll be posting my progress on my 101 in 1001 list once May is over though!

1. Have you ever used Craigslist?
Several times - once I posted a missing ad for our area when Tiger took her 2 day walkabout outside and we couldn't find her. I got several responses of people who had suggestions and a few well wishes, but no one had seen her. Another time I posted trying to get some interest in my Mary Kay business. Most recently I purchased a retired Partylite Aroma Melts holder I really wanted as it matched our upstairs bathroom decor perfectly (ocean and dolphins) - by searching through Google I found a seller on Craigslist who was liquidating her Partylite business inventory and selling it off at cost so I got a great deal on it too!

2. Can you sew? 
No, I'm horrible at it - I can't even a sew a button on that stays on for more than a few days! Fortunately my mom's a seamstress though so I just go to her for all my sewing needs.

3. Do you pour syrup on your pancakes or dip your pancakes in the syrup?
I drown my pancakes in syrup. My ex's mom once made pancakes for us one day when I was out there for a few days just so she could witness the insane amount of syrup I apparently use. Even my ex thought it was crazy... fortunately, hubby drowns his pancakes just as much as I do and this habit of mine seems perfectly normal to him! LOL

4. Rain storms: Love them or hate them? 
I like them so long as it doesn't go on for days on end (like this past April!) and I'm able to watch from somewhere safe (ie: indoors) and not stuck out in them.

5. Do you like swimming? 
Swimming is just "meh" to me - I don't mind it, but it's not my favorite either and I don't really go out of my way to do it. I plan on taking Jay a few times this summer though with my friend and her 2 young kids - got his spf 50 waterproof sunscreen and some Little Swimmers he can wear since he's on the small side for the reusable swimpants.

6. What kind of drink do you order at Sonic? 
Cherry Limeade! Their diet ones have almost no carbs in them too which, while it obviously tasted diet, I was able to treat myself to them while pregnant and on my diabetes diet =)

7. Are you funny? 
I can be at times.

8. At what age will your kids get cell phones?
This is to be debated as my husband is alllllll into the cell phone stuff (hence him working for a Verizon retailer). He's positive our son will have one in grade school at some point as that'll be the norm by then (both my cousin and my sister in law got theirs when they were 11, going on 12), although I really don't think he needs one until maybe Jr. High if he's involved in after-school activities. I was 16 when I got one and that was just so if my car broke down or I was running late from some activity I was doing I could call my parents.

9. What’s your favorite vegetable?
Broccoli! I <3 Broccoli

10. Were you a Girl Scout? 
I didn't make it that far - I was a Brownie for a year or 2 though, which was the level below Girl Scout.

Tornado Season is Here!

As most heard, Sunday evening Illinois & Missouri had some really bad weather!

Joplin, Missouri had a really bad tornado go through it and the death toll keeps rising from it daily. In Northern Illinois we had large areas without power, a middle school with it's roof blown off, and a major fire due to powerlines getting destroyed (and firetrucks delayed in getting there due to debris in the way!). So far it's been confirmed we had 3 (maybe 4) tornados come through the area that night!

Not to downplay Joplin, but it was pretty intense up here too!

And I got stuck driving home in part of the storm.

I was scheduled to close at work that night. On Sundays the mall closes at 6pm and for us close is however fast we can straighten up the merchandise, count the drawers and deposits and make the floors look acceptable. Fortunately for us, there were 2 of us closing with a manager too so it went faster and the manager's spouse called to warn her of the impending storm so she didn't make us do too much with the floors.
At 10 til 6, after she got the call, I ran out to my car to shut the windows all the way as it was an 80-degree day. It looked a bit overcast out and like it could rain a bit off to the west, but nothing yet.

About 6:45pm, as we were walking back across the mall after dropping off the deposit a mall cop informed us to be careful leaving as the local warning sirens were about to go off.

No doubt, we heard them off in the distance as we were exiting the mall, however there was still no rain. I called hubby to make sure he knew about the storm and that I was on my way home. Then I took off, speeding 5-10 miles over the whole way. I wasn't the only car on the road though despite the radio guy saying to seek shelter soon.

I got just past the road to my parents house which is about a mile or so down the road from us when "the shit hit the fan." It started raining and hard. The emergency broadcast signal took over the FM radio station I had on. My wipers were barely keeping up with the rain, however I was just a few blocks from home. Ironically, I had just passed where I experienced my 1st car accident as a kid, when my mom got in a minor fender-bender on our way home in similar weather (there was also a tornado warning, hence mom's hurry to get us home, and I was scared we were going to get stuck in the tornado!)

The guy in front of me literally went 2mph turning off the road, making things worse, keeping me in the storm and on the road longer than necessary. After he got out of my way it got worse, as I could barely see more than a few feet in front of me and my wipers could no longer keep up with the rain it was coming down so fast and hard!

I turned onto our street (hitting the garage door remote the second our house was in view) and it started hailing hard- dime-sized hail. This was definitely one of the worst storms I ever drove in and the fastest drive between home and the mall I ever made (roughly 10 minutes!).

Before my engine was off I hit the garage remote again, grabbed my keys and ran inside. It was pitch black, so I yelled for hubby - him and Jay were already down in the basement, standing in the doorway of our safe spot (the bathroom closet under the stairs) listing to the emergency broadcast report cutting into the TV every 2 seconds. Jay seemed quite calm, completely oblivious that anything major was happening around him!

I ran back upstairs to get a spare bottle for Jay and his diaper bag, as well as a book for myself and to take a quick look for Tiger as her animal intuition sent her hiding. No luck, but I soon found her downstairs and locked her in the bathroom with me as we waited.

I saw at 7:15pm our local weather people announced the "all clear" for our area on Twitter, however we were still under severe storm watch til morning and the storms definitely came on and off throughout the night!

We were lucky - on the other side of the main road there was no power. Our lights flickered throughout the night but never actually went out. We had no damage either - one girl I know reported on Facebook that all the windows at her house blew out! Fortunately her and her family were okay though! I also heard another friend on Facebook was holed up in the bathroom of Barnes and Noble. Someone else reported Walmart calling a code black and keeping people away from all doors.

It was definitely crazy and intense Sunday night! I think it's safe to say that tornado season is officially here!

Huggies Update

Remember how last week I was complaining about the constant leaks we were having with these Huggies Snug & Dry diapers we decided to try out since they were cheaper and there were more in the box?

Well, like I said, I emailed them about it, stating I would like a refund and even offered to send them back as I'd rather not keep using these things.

On Friday I got an email back, apologizing for the issue however they weren't sure why we were having the leaks but said maybe to try the next size up if Jay was near the end of the weight limit on the diapers (which is 15lbs - uh, he's only around 12-13lbs!) or to try a different make of Huggies diapers instead of the Snug and Dry ones. They also said they'd be forwarding my info along and I would be receiving a check for the diapers in the next 4-8 weeks!

Yay! So relieved, but let's see if they actually pull through and deliver!

Also, I still have this box with at least 250 diapers in it that I have no idea what to do with - we already went and bought a box of the Pampers Swaddlers that we know work just fine for us!

So about this book...

I forget how, but not too long ago I started following the blog geek with curves. Amy is a female geek, often writing about comics, Star Wars, fantasy books, and all other geeky things you would expect! I've read and seen some pretty neat stuff on her blog and I highly recommend checking it out!

Anyways, she recently posted about this really interesting fantasy book she acquired - Catherynne M. Valente’s The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making - and it sounds really interesting! It's about this girl named September and her adventures in Fairyland.

She's also giving away a copy of the book! Hubby and I both enjoy reading and now that Jay sleeps through the night and I'm able to have some time alone at night I've been getting back in the habit of reading more frequently, so I'm all for acquiring more books!

Check out her post about the book and giveaway to learn more about both!